Unfamiliar Territory
by sseattle
Summary: Story complete! Logan falls into White's hands and it's Max and the gang to the rescue. M/L PG13 for language
1. Really bad day

Disclaimer: I do not own or have any connection with "Dark Angel", James Cameron or Fox Network, nor do I expect to make any money at this - its just for fun! Please be kind to my fragile ego in your reviews - this really is my first fanfiction work I have posted!  
  
  
  
Chapter One.  
  
  
  
Logan sat before his computer working on his latest Eyes Only expose. The months since Max had left him had been hard, but productive. After he dragged himself out of the bottle, he dealt with his pain the way men had done it from the beginning of time - he immersed himself in his work. Logan was very pleased with the success he was having even without Max; he had reactivated some of the contacts and operatives he had let go when Max came on board and was using Asha and the S1W more often, as well as doing some of his own legwork again, and had brought down three corrupt politicians and a corporate executive using his company to manufacture street drugs on the side. He was still looking into the mystery of Sandeman and the Familiars, but kept running into dead ends. Only those close to him, like Bling, Asha and Sebastian, saw the change in Logan - the blue eyes were cold and closed and his handsome face never smiled now, even with them. Logan had shut himself from human contact again, as he had after the shooting that left him paralyzed, and Bling could only hope that time would see Logan open up to his friends again.  
  
As Logan studied the financial data from the bank computer he had hacked into, he became aware of a sound in the hallway outside his apartment door - the elevator had opened on his floor. He waited for moment for the doorbell to ring, then quickly shut down the computer as his door was broken open. Just as he finished terminating the connection and turning off the computer his wheelchair was pulled roughly out of his office and into the living room. He was spun around to face a triumphant Ames White, flanked by three other well dressed men.  
  
"Well, Mr. Cale," said White, "It took me a while to find out who you are, but here we are. I have a lot of questions for you."  
  
"You could have called - or even knocked," said Logan, feeling at a disadvantage in the wheelchair, but he had gotten out of the habit of wearing the exoskeleton at home.  
  
"I didn't want you to go to any trouble for me," replied White, "Search the place, Wilson. Bryce, stay with Cale, and Brooks and I will take a look at the computer and office. I know you are involved with Eyes Only and the Manticore trash, Cale, do you want to come clean now or do we have to do this the hard way?"  
  
"Gee,let me think about that," stalled Logan. White and the man he called Brooks disappeared into the office, another headed down the hall of the apartment, leaving Logan with the youngest of the group. White knew he was involved with the transgenics, but not that he was Eyes Only, Logan thought quickly. He had the computer rigged so that the harddrive would erase completely if the right passwords were not used to open the Eyes Only files - that would protect his informants and operatives as well as his information on the computer, but what about what was in his head? Could he hold out against White's interrogation? Logan was sure that White would not hesitate to use any means necessary to extract the information in his head - Max, Alec, Joshua, Zack, Asha would all be completely compromised - he knew where they lived and worked. He wished he had taken a moment to grab his gun while he shut down the computer, but maybe there was another way. He studied the man standing before him, seeing the glint of excitement in his eyes - young and inexperienced and probably strong.  
  
"So, are you one of the Familiars?" said Logan with a nasty smirk in his voice, "One of those ten-generation-selective-breeding guys?"  
  
"I wouldn't use that tone if I were you," answered Bryce, "We are bred to be superior in every way. When all others are gone, we will remain."  
  
"Riiight, " Logan dragged the word out with utter lack of conviction, "Superior in every way. But it takes four of you to go after a cripple in a wheelchair. And someone I know mentioned that in ten generations your women still can't get rid of their fat asses."  
  
Bryce struck Logan hard enough to knock over the wheelchair and bloody his nose.  
  
"Is that all you've got?" Logan asked mockingly, raising up on his elbow and wiping his bloody nose. "No wonder your women prefer to find husbands outside your group! They may have fat asses, but you guys have small..." Before Logan could finish his comment Bryce picked Logan up by the front of his shirt and threw him across the room. Logan crashed into the bookcase and slid unconscious to the floor as White and the others ran into the room.  
  
"Dammit, Bryce, " yelled White, "What the hell were you thinking? We need him alive!" He went to examine Logan.  
  
"He was saying ..." Bryce started to realize how Logan had used him and felt foolish. "I have no excuses, sir, I let him taunt me to anger."  
  
"You were warned that this man already had a spinal injury and no violence was to be used on him here. Consider yourself in disgrace - your punishment will be decided later." White was deeply concerned by Logan's pallor and the clamminess of his skin - he was going into shock. The four men rigged up a makeshift backboard and carefully placed Logan on it, then improvised a stretcher. Two of the men carried Logan out into the elevator, while White and the other packed up his computer and as many disks and files from the office as they could carry. From White's cursory examination earlier there was nothing relevant in the files, but perhaps a closer look would find some clues or leads.  
  
Ignoring the stares of Logan's neighbors and passerbys on the street, White's men placed Logan in the back of their van and drove off. White made a phone call from the car and explained the situation, then told the driver to head to the airport where they would get instructions on how to proceed. Their credentials got them through the sector checkpoints easily and soon they arrived at an airfield and they boarded a plane. White made a phone call and went to talk to the pilot when he finished.  
  
"Change of plans," he told the pilot, " We're going to Texas instead of Maryland. Do you know the base outside of Fort Worth?" The pilot answered in the affirmative. "That's where we land then. Take off as soon as the medic gets here."  
  
A car drove up less than ten minutes later and the medic arrived with a couple of boxes of equipment. During the flight he was able to stabilize Logan's condition and manage his pain when he regained consciousness.  
  
The first thing Logan saw when came around was White's face, and he remembered the scene in his penthouse. He tried to bring his hand up to his face but it wouldn't move. He started to panic until he realized his wrists were strapped to the stretcher.  
  
"Nice try, Cale," said White, "You almost made it. You may well have done more damage to your spine, though. We won't know until the doctors examine you."  
  
"Where are you taking me?" asked Logan.  
  
"To a very special clinic - very advanced. Don't worry about it, you will be in very good hands. Shall we talk about something else and get your mind off it? Something like, where my son is?"  
  
"No, I don't think I want to talk about that. You are welcome to try to beat it out of me if you like," said Logan, "Since I don't know, it won't do you any good, but feel free." Logan only knew that the boy's aunt had taken him out of the country, but he didn't know exactly where they had ended up. Logan did know that White would not lay a hand on him until his condition would allow it without killing him.  
  
White recognized that Logan had correctly assessed the situation and left him alone, instead studying the files that he had taken from Logan's office. Mostly they were innocuous documents relating to funds and investments that Logan had, some on businesses that Logan was looking into. There was also one relating to Logan's medical condition that White set aside for the doctors, as well as one on the situation surrounding Cale Industries. The pilot announced after several hours that they were arriving at the airfield and White made a quick check on the prisoner. Logan was drifting in and out of sleep from the pain killers and boredom, and White returned to his seat and fastened his seatbelt as the plane landed. They were met by an ambulance and staff car and driven swiftly to the facility where Logan was whisked off to the infirmary.  
  
******************************************  
  
Max was taking a break in the back of Jam Pony with Original Cindy. Not that Max was good company these days - she dragged around in a state of depression and increasing cynicism. Cindy's heart was breaking for her friend, but there was nothing she could do for Max except let her work things out for herself. Max had already refused all of Cindy's best advice weeks ago, such as to patch things up with Logan and tell him the truth about her and Alec. Original Cindy may not like men for the most part, but she thought Logan was one of the best of the bunch and he deserved better from Max than to believe she left him for Alec.  
  
"Gonna come to Crash tonight, Boo?", asked Cindy.  
  
"Nah," replied Max, "Think I'll take a ride on my bike. I scored some gas, think I'll blow the cobwebs from my mind with my baby. By the way," she asked too casually, "have you seen Asha there lately?"  
  
"No," Cindy said, "Blondie ain't been in for almost a week now. Don't think Alec too happy about that either," she added cautiously, looking at her unhappy friend.  
  
Max stood up to go, when the TV suddenly went to a special report. For a moment they thought it would be an Eyes Only hack, but a reporter started speaking instead. Max turned away, but his first words caught her attention.  
  
"I am standing outside Fogle Tower in Sector 9, home of journalist Logan Cale, who is one of the Cale Industry heirs. That is the company that makes components for the hoverdrones that help provide security in US cities. Logan Cale was apparently kidnapped today in a bold daylight abduction. Neighbors heard his door broken down and saw Cale carried out on a stretcher and put in a van by four men, but assumed that it was a legitimate arrest, until Cale's physical therapist called police to check on him and subsequent investigation revealed that there was no warrant for Cale nor was in custody of any law enforcement agency or in any hospital. Logan Cale is a paraplegic, paralyzed from the waist down due to a gunshot injury almost two years ago. Anyone who has seen Mr. Cale in the last twenty four hours or has any knowledge of where he might be is urged to call the police and talk to Det. Matt Sung as soon as possible." The screen cut for a moment to a picture of Logan with a phone number under it.  
  
Max barely felt Cindy's arm around her shoulders. Her mind spun - was it Manticore? White? An enemy from Logan's Eyes Only hacks?  
  
"I gotta get over there - now!" she said to Cindy.  
  
"Wait, Max," said Cindy, "What if whoever took Logan is watching? They may have been looking for you too!"  
  
"Gotta risk it - this is my fault. I should have been there!"  
  
"No! Call Bling first - don't be a fool, girl! You can't help him if they get you too!" Cindy shook Max by the shoulders. Max nodded slowly and headed for the phone.  
  
Sketchy ambled over to Cindy. "Wasn't that Max's old boyfriend they were talking about on the TV?" Cindy nodded. "Harsh," commented Sketchy.  
  
Max came back over to Cindy. "Bling says the place is crawling with cops, but he hasn't seen anyone else hanging around. He said Logan's computer and a bunch of files and stuff are missing. And his wheelchair and exoskeleton are still there," her voice quivered a bit, "It looks like there was a fight - there was some blood on the floor and a bookcase."  
  
"Max!" Normal shouted. She went to over to the counter with Cindy hovering protectively beside her. "That was your, um, friend, wasn't it?" Normal gestured vaguely at the TV, "Do you need some time off?"  
  
"No," said Max, surprised and touched by the unexpected sympathy, "Logan and I broke up a while ago. It's not that I don't care, but nothing I can do right now. I'd rather keep busy for now."  
  
"Okay, hot run for you," Normal tossed a package to her.  
  
"Boo?" Cindy said, questioningly.  
  
"I'll go over later, after the police are gone. Tell Alec to watch his back, if you see him. I'm gonna swing by Joshua's and tell him to keep and even lower profile," Max said and left the office on her bike.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
Ames White sat in the conference room with two members of the committee, three doctors and the top two officers of the facility, and did not like the turn the conversation had taken. He had already been castigated properly for the disaster his straightforward mission had turned into, and fully intended to roll it downhill. Cale was to have been taken into custody and interrogated at their East Coast headquarters, then he would be quietly disappeared. Instead Cale was now the subject of much discussion at the less secure Texas facility, where the staff had mixed loyalties.  
  
"Can't you just patch him up so we can get on with finding the Manticore escapees?" White asked, trying to steer the meeting back to the point.  
  
"Yes, but I don't think we should throw this opportunity away," the head doctor said, "We have everything we need here to try this procedure and Mr. Cale is a perfect subject for the trial."  
  
"Mr. Cale is a material witness at least, and a co-conspirator to treason at worst, and needs to be interrogated as soon as possible before the others go underground again. With all due respect to Dr. Mitchell, I did not bring Cale here to be a guinea pig for him to continue his Manticore experiments on," White said sarcastically, rubbing in the doctor's past.  
  
"All I can say to that is that the procedure I am suggesting has great potential for treating others with spinal cord injuries. The surgery won't take much longer that the standard treatment for the subject's spine, and bears the same risks. Cale could die during either surgery just as easily, or become quadriplegic. The only difference is that after my treatment, Cale could regain some use of his lower body." The doctor was exaggerating a bit, the treatment was much more risky, but he met White's eyes unflinchingly.  
  
White looked around the table and saw that the others were leaning towards the doctor's view. He tried to come up with an unanswerable reason to stop it, but could not find one.  
  
"This may work out better for us if he does regain some use of his legs," said the senior committee member, "That could be something to hold over him when he is questioned about his relation to the Manticore escapees and Eyes Only."  
  
"Then it is decided," said the general in charge of the facility, "Dr. Mitchell, proceed with the surgery as soon as possible and keep us apprised of your progress with the subject." The meeting broke up.  
  
Dr. Mitchell set preparations for his experimental treatment, then reviewed Logan's medical file again. Logan was strapped to a gurney in the infirmary, hooked up to monitors and IV tubes when Dr. Mitchell came in to speak to him. The doctor had overseen Logan's initial exam, but had not spoken directly to him until now.  
  
"Mr. Cale, I am Dr. Mitchell," he began, "I will be performing your surgery today. If we don't operate, the pressure on your spinal cord from the damaged vertebrae will kill you in less than twenty-four hours. I have looked over your medical records, which were fortunately brought in with you, but I need to ask you if there is anything else that I should know about your condition that is not in them."  
  
"My doctor is Sam Carr," Logan said, trying to clear the fogs from the painkillers from his mind, "Anyone doing surgery on me, I want it to be him." Dr. Mitchell did not respond. "I didn't sign any consent forms," Logan continued, gesturing with his bound right hand, "Suppose I say I refuse to permit this operation?" Dr. Mitchell still said nothing. "I see," said Logan, "This operation - is it approved by the AMA? Thought not."  
  
"This treatment has the potential to allow you to regain use of your lower extremities, Mr. Cale. You already saw what the blood transfusion from the X5 did for you - this is an extension of that idea. You should be excited!" Dr. Mitchell said enthusiastically, "Now, is there anything else I should know about you."  
  
Logan thought of Dr. Vertes, but shook his head no. "Just that I want to go on record as refusing permission for this operation, for what it is worth. I have no desire to have my misfortune exploited by you or anyone else."  
  
Another doctor came over and spoke quietly to Dr Mitchell.  
  
"Alright, people," Dr. Mitchell spoke to the staff in the infirmary, "We will begin the operation in one hour. I want this man prepped and ready now." 


	2. Reenforcements

Thanks for the kind reviews - even the threats were encouraging. This chapter sets up for the real action, which I hope to get written soon, only I hurt my hand and my typing is frustratingly slow.  
  
  
  
Chapter Two  
  
Max dropped in the skylight of Logan's apartment quietly. She had watched from the building across the street for over an hour for signs of any surveillance, but had seen nothing. It was probably hopeless that she would find anything here that might lead her to Logan, but she had to try. Or maybe she just had to come here - she was not really sure. Bling had said that the police had not found any clues, but from the description of the abductors, Max was pretty sure that it was White and the Familiars. She flinched slightly at the sight of the overturned wheelchair, blood and books on the floor, and trashed office. She headed to the back to see if the bedrooms had been searched too.  
  
Another lithe figure dropped down from the skylight and drifted into the office. Max returned from the bedroom and heard the intruder picking up the papers in the office. She immediately moved silently to the office and grabbed the intruder, throwing them up against the wall. But the intruder struck back fast and hard, and Max was suddenly on the defensive and knocked on her back. As she sprang back up to her feet and dodged to the side she caught sight of the intruder's face and blonde hair.  
  
"Syl?" she asked in amazement.  
  
"Maxie?" the intruder asked, in equal amazement. "I thought you were dead!"  
  
"No, but it's a long story. What are you doing here in Logan's apartment?"  
  
"I was in small-town Oregon and saw on the news that Logan had been kidnapped. I thought I should check it out - he knows about us, after all, and helped bring down Manticore. I thought maybe they had regrouped and taken him; if so, we had better know. Besides, we owe him." Syl paused and regarded her sister. "Do you know who took him? Are we all compromised again?"  
  
"I have a good guess who has him and I have no idea if we are compromised. I think Logan would be a tough nut to crack. Apparently he managed to put up fight and was injured again - that would probably slow down any hardball interrogation." Max looked back at her sister. "Syl - I escaped from Manticore again about six months after I was captured, and they never really turned me. I've been living here in Seattle again since then. I had nothing to do with Logan being kidnapped. Look, I know someone who may be able to help us - let's get out of here and go see him."  
  
"Okay," said Syl, climbing up the rope. She was quickly followed by Max and they made way back down to the street to Max's Ninja. "So, where are we going?"  
  
"To see Sebastian - you'll love him!" said Max.  
  
Max and Syl sped over to the Capital Hill area where Sebastian lived. There were several hospitals and medical centers in the area, which kept the power system in that area more stable than most of the rest of the city, and Sebastian had tapped into that to run his powerful computers. Max parked her motorcycle outside his unremarkable brick apartment building and securely locked it up. An unwelcome thought had occurred to her on the way over - why had neither Bling nor Sebastian contacted her themselves? She had her pager and they both knew her number - did they think she would not want to help, or that she was somehow involved. Max steeled herself and rang Sebastian's buzzer.  
  
"Max, I was expecting you," came his synthesized voice over the intercom, "Who is that with you?"  
  
"My sister. Let us in," replied Max as Syl smiled and waved for the camera. Sebastian buzzed them in and Max led the way to Sebastian's apartment. The door opened as they arrived, and Max was less than pleased to find it held by Asha.  
  
"So what's going on that she's here and you don't even call me?" Max demanded.  
  
"Take it easy," Sebastian said, "Logan asked that you not be contacted if anything should happen to him - he didn't want you involved. "  
  
"Why? Did he think I wouldn't care?" Max was irate. Syl was confused.  
  
"After the way you broke up with him," Asha broke in, "frankly, yes. Alec made it pretty clear to me that you guys felt we mere humans were beneath you and that from now on, you would only mix with your own kind."  
  
Syl began to see a little light. "Who is Alec?" she asked.  
  
"Later, " said Max to Syl and turned back to Asha, "Of course, you were right there to comfort him and help him and make sure he thought the worst of me. You are such a good friend!"  
  
"I didn't have to," Asha replied snidely, "He already did. And I didn't exactly see you beating down his door or even ringing his phone to make sure he was okay. And after all he did for you and your so-called family. Yeah, I can really see the resemblance between you and your sister here!"  
  
"Whoa, there," interrupted Syl, "I like a good cat fight as much as the next guy, but don't we have something more important to think about here?"  
  
A strange noise was coming from Sebastian, and the women belatedly realized it was laughter. "I see the resemblance," he said, "You are both very beautiful! And Syl is right - we should be working on finding whoever took Logan and where they have taken him." He turned his wheelchair and headed back to his computers.  
  
"You're right, Max," said Syl, "I like this guy."  
  
Unfortunately, Sebastian had not been able to find much on his computers about Logan's abduction, other than that the plane that they suspected he had been taken out of state on had not filed a flight plan. Since the pulse, the FAA carried little weight as most radar and air traffic control towers were still at least partially out of commission, as were most of the commercial jets. Lack of power, fuel, and replacement parts made flying mostly a luxury only for those who owned their own small planes. Syl and Sebastian got Max and Asha to temporary set aside their dislike and the four brainstormed, but came up with no other idea than to have Sebastian keep working the internet and checking on Logan's informant net, which he had access to, and Max and Syl would watch Logan's apartment to see if anyone else was hanging around there. Max made Sebastian promise faithfully to keep her informed, and told him explicitly what she would do to him if he did not. While he did seem more amused by her threats than afraid, Max left confident that, despite Logan's wishes, Sebastian would not shut her out.  
  
Max and Syl returned to Max's apartment, where Original Cindy was waiting up for her.  
  
"Whas this, Boo?" Cindy asked as Max closed the door behind Syl, "You go looking for rollerboy and come back with a fine lady. That's my scene!"  
  
"Original Cindy, this is my sister, Syl. And no, no word on Logan at all. Syl came to help me find him," Max explained, "Syl, Cindy knows all about us. She got caught up in some stuff that went down and I had to tell her - she saw me do too much to explain away as PMS. But she's cool with it."  
  
"Pleased to meet ya, Syl," Cindy said, "Boo, you best be calling Alec before I rip the phone out of the wall - he said been blowing up your pager and getting nothing. He looked for you at Logan's but you weren't there, so he's been calling here every five minutes or so worried you're doing something stupid.  
  
"Nothing to say to him, unless he's got news for me," Max said, throwing herself down on the sofa.  
  
"Okay, now, who's Alec?" Syl demanded.  
  
"Bad news, trouble, smug, smart mouth from here to New Jersey, and thinks he's God's gift to womankind. Oh yeah, he's also an X5 too." As Max finished speaking there was a knock at the door.  
  
"Surprise, surprise," Cindy said, opening the door, "Max was just talking about you."  
  
Alec strolled in, grinning in relief at seeing Max. "Gee, Max, if I'd known you were going to meet up with another lovely lady, I would have been happy to go with you. Offer you my manly protection and all that - the streets of Seattle can be so dangerous for pretty ladies late at night."  
  
"Ben?" Syl asked in astonishment.  
  
"NO!" Alec denied firmly, "Ben was my twin and a wacko. She's one of us?" he asked Max, and at Max's nod, showed Syl his barcode as proof.  
  
"Met him while I was back at Manticore," Max explained, "More of a sociopath than a wacko, but Ben's escapades got him landed in psych-ops for a while, so being mistaken for Ben is a sore point with him. Alec likes it better out here than at Manticore, so as long as it is in his own best interest, you can usually trust him."  
  
"And you left Logan for him?" Syl asked.  
  
"What?!" This was the first that Alec had heard about this. "Not that I am not flattered or even very surprised, but Maxie dear, why didn't you tell me we were an item?" As much fun as Alec was having teasing Max, he was also irritated at her using him without telling him. This explained Asha's cold shoulder towards him - Alec knew Asha had a soft spot for Logan. And while Alec in general had little use for do-gooders like Logan, he respected the man and occasionally found him useful, and didn't like being used to hurt him.  
  
"Shut up, Alec" said Max, "Logan jumped to conclusions when he saw us together the morning I told you about Ben and I let him keep them. It made it easier to keep him from trying to see me again."  
  
Syl took pity on the miserably uncomfortable Max and changed the subject. "So what did happen to you back at Manticore? Last I heard of you, you were dead and Zack was captured. No one has heard from Zack since then either. When we heard that Manticore was destroyed we all expected Zack to check in on us again." Syl looked at Max expectantly.  
  
Max hesitated. "Its a long story, Syl, and I promise I'll tell you what I can later. But first, you tell me who you were expecting to find at Logan's. You climbed down my rope without worrying about who put it there."  
  
"Krit. He should be here any time. I thought maybe he got here before me and was checking out Logan's apartment." Syl's phone rang a short while later and she gave Krit directions to Max's apartment. While they were waiting Max and Cindy called out for pizza for them all and Syl and Alec got aquatinted. Finally there was a knock at the door and Max let Krit in. He gave his sister a delighted hug then looked at Alec.  
  
"Ben?" he asked.  
  
"NO!" four voices exclaimed in unison.  
  
Several hours and many explanations later Krit and Alec left for Alec's apartment and Syl was bedded down on the sofa. The plan for the moment was for Krit and Syl to watch Logan's apartment and Max, Alec and Cindy to keep their normal routine. Max had told her siblings about her time at Manticore and much of what had happened afterward, leaving out only Zack's reappearance and the virus that had destroyed her relationship with Logan. The first she was afraid to explain, and the latter she did not feel like talking about anymore.  
  
  
  
*********************************  
  
Logan was wheeled out of surgery several hours later, followed closely by Dr. Mitchell, who was beaming with almost paternalistic pride. He supervised as Logan was placed in a bed in intensive care ward and traction set up to keep his spine straight. Then the doctor went to his office and made a call to the general.  
  
"Yes, sir, everything went fine. He is very healthy except for the spinal cord damage and I have great hope the operation will be a success. The next 48 hours should tell us. No, sir, he will be kept sedated to allow his body to concentrate on healing, but we will know if he rejects the tissue we implanted. Yes, sir, I will keep you informed." Dr. Mitchell hung up the phone and began writing up his notes. When he finished he placed the papers in Logan's file, including with them tissue samples of Logan's tissue transplanted into him, as well as an analysis of both. 'This will be fascinating', thought the doctor.  
  
*********************************  
  
"Alec," called Max, returning from a run, "Commere for a sec!" She parked her bike and led Alec to an empty corner of the break area. "We should check out White's office - maybe he got sloppy and left a copy of his orders there or something. Or steal his computer and let Sebastian have a go at it. You know where his office is, don't you?"  
  
"Well, I know where it was," said Alec, considering the idea, "Doubt if he would have changed it - I don't think he is too worried about any of us coming after him. Maybe he should be - that's a good idea, Max. Maybe Sebastian can pull a Logan for us- get the layout of the place and check on security and all?"  
  
"I'll call him now," said Max, relieved to be doing something at last.  
  
After work the four X5's headed over to Sebastian's, where Sebastian presented them with full blueprints of the NSA officer's building and details of the building security plan. Sebastian had tried but had not yet been able to hack into their computer's secured files. "I am looking for a backdoor", he told them, "the front is very well guarded."  
  
In no time a sound plan was formulated and they decided to go that night. Krit and Syl supplemented the weapons they had brought with some from Alec's alarmingly good stash and gathered up the rest of the gear they would need. Asha agreed readily to have her group start up a riot several blocks away to draw away the sector police and slow down any response should any alarms go off.  
  
From a rooftop adjacent to the NSA headquarters Max, Syl, Krit and Alec watched the fires from the riot go up and spread in the streets. Sirens and bullhorns filled the air, doing more to draw crowds of streetpunks to the area rather than disperse the rioters. Alec easily jumped to the NSA headquarters roof and waited for the other three to enter through the main door before he broke open the roof access door and began to make his way downstairs to the offices, taking care of what little resistance he encountered.  
  
Max, Syl and Krit breezily broke in the front door and walked over to the guard on duty by the building security system.  
  
"Hi!", said Max cheerfully, "We're here to see Mr. White. Could you direct us to his office, please?" She hauled the guard over the top of the security console and slammed him up against the wall as Syl and Krit shot up the console, effectively shutting down all the ringing alarms. "I said 'please' - now which is White's office?"  
  
More uniformed guards and plainclothes agents quickly swarmed into the lobby as the stunned security guard pointed at an office directory on the wall. "Lady, that's all I know about this place," he said. Max slammed him against the wall once more, knocking him out as she he siblings prepared to meet the attack. Krit shot the armed guards who led the group, and they fell to the floor screaming and tripped those directly behind them. Max and Syl leapt forward, kicking those on the ground unconscious as they disarmed and fought those bringing up the rear. Max was easily dealing with two guards while Krit and Syl fought three plainclothes agents. Syl quickly had one down, and turned her attention to the second. Krit dodged a bullet from the third agent's gun, closed in to disarm him and proceeded to show him why you should not shoot and miss and X5 soldier. Finishing that lesson, Krit was surprised to see Syl pinned down with the second agent choking her and sprang to his sister's assistance. He pulled the man off and threw him across the room, only to have the agent easily spin in the air and land on his feet. The two squared off and a furious battle began, neither giving ground, until Max put an end to it with a metal stool to the back of the agent's head.  
  
"Um, Max?" asked Syl, rubbing her throat, "Was there something you meant to tell us?"  
  
"I'm sorry," Max said, "I keep forgetting you don't know about everything that is going on." The directory had listed the Director of Field Operations as having an office on the fourth floor, and Max had decided to try there first. She led the way to the stairs while filling Syl and Krit in on the Familiars and what little she and Logan had been able to find out about them.  
  
"That kinda changes everything, doesn't it, Maxie?" said Krit, "It makes everything twice as complicated. I mean, who really took Cale - the NSA or the Familiars? Both have a beef with him, and White is mixed up with both."  
  
They came out on the fourth floor and found Alec barely holding his own against two agents, Familiars by their strength.. Krit darted forward, bending over to allow Syl to launch herself from his back to kick the first man from midair. Krit swept out with one leg to knock the second to the ground and Alec used the opportunity to finish him off. Max and Syl tagteamed on the first man and he quickly joined his companion on the floor. Syl and Krit stood guard while Max and Alec searched the offices.  
  
"In here!" she called after a few minutes, "I found his files. Alec, download the harddrive on his computer." Syl and Krit unpacked the incendiary explosives they had packed and started setting them up. Max dumped all the files from the drawers on the floor while Alec copied as much of the harddrive onto a disk as he could - much was protected, but the letters, memos and email were available with little effort.  
  
Noises outside alerted them that the sector police had finally found time to respond, so they set off the bombs and fled up the stairs. Crossing the rooftops of the next couple of buildings, they made their way back down to the ground and innocently headed back to Max's.  
  
Over beer and popcorn, the four poured over the files that Max had stolen. Resisting the impulse to take them all for fear the fire would not destroy all evidence of the theft, Max had taken the ones on Eyes Only, Logan Cale, Sandeman, X5-452, X5-494, and the 2009 escapees. The last three were more out of curiosity than any hope of information on their search or to destroy the information they may hold for good - Max was sure what was in these files on the X5's was in a computer bank somewhere else too.  
  
"Okay," Krit closed the last folder and summed up what they had found out, "They suspect that Cale is an agent or informant for Eyes Only, and that there is a connection between him and Max. They watched him for weeks waiting for her to show, but gave up on that and grabbed him to take him to "NJ HQ", no address given."  
  
"Maybe it's here somewhere," Alec tossed the disk on the table, "But we need a computer. Too bad we can't use Logan's."  
  
Max shot him a dirty look. "I'll take it to Sebastian along with the rest of this. At least we know what direction they were headed in. And that White and the rest of them have no idea about Sebastian as a friend of Logan's or Eyes Only."  
  
"Keep it that way - take it over in the morning as a Jam Pony Messenger," Alec suggested, "Don't risk breaking curfew again tonight."  
  
"So what do Krit and I do now? Watching Logan's place is pointless," Syl asked.  
  
"Maybe you guys could baby-sit Joshua for a while - Big Guy must be lonely since you haven't been around in a couple of days, Max," Alec said.  
  
"And probably out of food - he kinda slipped my mind for a while there," Max said, "How about it, guys? You'll love him."  
  
"That's Max talk for someone completely unusual, so brace yourself," Syl translated, "But Sebastian is good, so okay by me. Who is Joshua?" 


	3. Lets make a deal

I am not a doctor nor do I play one on TV. I am barely conversant with medical terminology since I don't watch ER, so lets pretend the medical stuff makes sense. This part is almost all Logan, so enjoy (and review)!  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Logan dragged his eyes open, but could see little - the room was dim and he did not have his glasses on. More worrisome was his inability to move almost at all; it was only with the greatest effort that he could move his fingers and he could not turn his head at all. To top it all off, he itched and his mouth tasted like the floor of Crash after Karaoke night. He closed his eyes again.  
  
The next time he woke up he was not alone. He could make out a man in a white coat standing next to the middle of his bed looking at some papers on the bedside table. The man looked up and noticed Logan was awake.  
  
"Mr. Cale, do you remember me, Dr. Mitchell?" he asked, "Do you know where you are?"  
  
"Yes, I remember you, and no, I have no idea where I am - geographically speaking, that is," Logan answered.  
  
Dr. Mitchell smiled cheerfully. "Good enough. How are you feeling? Other than not being able to move, that is. In addition to putting you in traction, we also gave you some medication to limit your ability to move in order to allow the bone and tissue to repair without interruption. You have been sedated for the last 48 hours also. So, any pain or discomfort or unusual sensations?"  
  
Logan thought for a moment and replied succinctly, "I itch."  
  
"One place in particular or all over, as in legs too?"  
  
"All over." Logan wondered if there was such a thing as phantom itching as well as phantom pain.  
  
"Excellent!" Dr. Mitchell made a note in his file. Logan was too busy thinking about how only a person not bothered by an itch would call the sensation 'excellent' to notice the doctor move further down the bed until he felt a cold metallic object lightly brush his foot and his foot twitch involuntarily. "Excellent again! Tomorrow we will run some tests and check on how far your surgery has healed - it was a very delicate procedure - but so far the results have surpassed even my expectations."  
  
"Just what exactly did you do to me?" Logan was curious, but the drugs in his system made it hard to be angry or afraid.  
  
"I will tell you all about it tomorrow, Mr. Cale, we will have a lot to talk about then, I promise." Dr. Mitchell picked up his file and headed for the door. "Get some more sleep, tomorrow we will take you out of traction and off the drugs." Logan drifted off again, dreaming of candlelight and beautiful dark brown eyes smiling at him.  
  
As the doctor promised, the traction devices and the IV were removed in the morning and by early afternoon the drugs had worn completely off. Logan was surprised that there was not more pain in his back when he moved cautiously, but there was enough to keep him from trying to sit up on his own. He kept himself occupied until the doctor got there with the simple pleasure of wiggling his toes and flexing his feet.  
  
"Okay, Dr. Mitchell," Logan had decided to take command, rather than play grateful patient, "You promised me an explanation. Start talking."  
  
Dr. Mitchell was less than pleased with Logan's attitude, but bit down his instinctive response. "Well, to begin with, the bullet that paralyzed you did serious damage to your spinal cord as well as the vertebrae of your spinal column. The transfusion from the X5 rebuilt all that, but during the subsequent rejection the new tissue of the spinal cord basically died - disintegrated might be a better word. The bones of the vertebrae fared better, perhaps because of their tougher composition they did not rebreak." (Or because of Dr. Vertes' treatments, thought Logan.) "At this facility we are fortunate to have some of the remains of the Manticore equipment and experiments, including some of the recaptured X series soldiers - damaged ones, but suitable for some tests," he paused as Logan paled. "I grafted some spinal cord tissue from an X6 - a braindead one - into your spinal cord. Now, to prevent rejection I also injected some stem cells into your spinal cord; these were from miscarried fetuses - Manticore was religious about preserving those. As a final step we removed and replaced some of your bones marrow with the X6's bone marrow - you may have wondered about the bruising and soreness in your thigh."  
  
Logan hadn't - he had not felt any soreness in his thighs or looked at his legs yet. Now he was far more concerned about the implications of what he had been told.  
  
"Doctor, does the word "ethics" mean anything to you? Because if it doesn't I would be glad to define it for you. You think I should be on my knees thanking you for the use of my legs again, well, sorry - I wasn't thrilled with life in the chair, but I could deal. Let's follow what you've done here to its logical conclusion: word gets round that tissue from a Manticore creation cures paralysis and what else? Your people offer hope of cures for all sorts of things to the rich, the powerful, the influential people and pretty soon get them in your pocket. The rest of the world hears about this and pretty soon everyone wants a transplant from an X series or something and you run out of instock parts and have to start taking them from the "undamaged" ones. Now you are killing people - some just kids - for their parts, and those not recaptured are being hunted and sold on the black market to the highest bidders all over the world. And this is a great medical breakthrough? So what happens when they are all caught and sold off for parts? How do you get more, doctor? Clone and kill the babies?"  
  
"Mr. Cale, you are hysterical or delirious." Dr. Mitchell stood up with all the dignity he could muster. "I will send a nurse in with something to calm you down - I suggest you take it without any arguments, you will need your rest. Agent White wants to have a few words with you as soon as possible and I now have no medical reason to deny him." He quickly left the room.  
  
******************  
  
The next afternoon Logan was brought back to his room and deposited back into the bed, unconscious again from the mixture of drugs given to him during the interrogation. He had been preparing himself mentally for the inevitable interrogation and had come up with some plausible lies and half truths to tell White, but was unsure if he could withstand the drugs and stick to his story. The first thing in the morning he had been taken to another part of the complex and placed in a chair rather like a dentist's chair. A technician started an IV in Logan's arm when White and another agent arrived, and Logan soon drifted into a state of waking unreality. For the next several hours Logan was questioned incessantly, until the drugs and lack of food and rest overtook him and they could not rouse him enough to answer anymore questions.  
  
White was quite sure that somehow Cale had been lying to them - how Cale had resisted the drugs he had no idea, but White had good intuition and Cale's answers did not ring true to him. The other NSA agents and government brass believed Cale, but White did not. However, he was more than happy to send his agents back to Seattle to search for 452 (aka Max), whom Cale said usually found work as a law clerk for various firms when she needed money. They were also to search the docks for 494 who recently joined the longshoremen's union. White had received a message from the conclave to meet with Mrs. Moorehead that evening, and didn't need to try and explain to his agents where he was going. Besides, such summons always made him nervous.  
  
A few hours later White stood with Mrs. Moorehead in the rose garden of the local park. Neither of them was much for small talk, so he waited for her to speak.  
  
"Fenes'tol, White," she began, "We are much pleased with your progress. You have in your custody a man named Logan Cale."  
  
"Fenes'tol. I am honored. Yes, I have Cale. He has been linked to the transgenics and Eyes Only. And I intend to get out of him where my son is! As soon as I can get him alone, that is." White pretended interest in the roses.  
  
"The conclave is interested in establishing a base of power in Seattle. Mostly we have stayed in small towns that we can easily control, but we have long realized that in order to gain the financial and political power we need we must establish ourselves in the large cities too. Cale is from a very prominent family in Seattle, he can move with the powerful and wealthy there - the "A list" so to speak," Moorehead continued.  
  
"Excuse me - the Cales are a disgraced family after the killer hoverdrone incident. They lost their business and much of their wealth. Logan Cale was already considered to be the family's black sheep even before that - he refused to join the family business and fought with his uncle several times." White did not like the way this conversation was heading.  
  
"Bennett Cale is suing to get the business and the family fortune returned to him. Our sources say he stands a very good chance, and that Logan Cale's help has been instrumental in making the case. When the case is settled, Logan will not only be rich again, but a hero. We would like him to be a rich hero with a wife of our choosing." The priestess turned and looked White full in the face waiting for his reaction.  
  
White was not surprised, having recognized what she was leading up to, but he was not in agreement. "I think you have chosen the wrong man to use to wedge your foot in Seattle society's door. Why not Bennett Cale?"  
  
"He is already married."  
  
"Look, Logan Cale is not only aware of us, he has actively moved against us more than once. Not to mention that he has some sort of relationship with 452, even if it is true, as he says, that they broke up a while ago. He is dangerous to us - smart and dangerous. That is why I removed him from Seattle in the first place, to isolate him, " White said, pacing with frustration. "This is a guy who tried to get us to kill him - suicide by cop - in order to prevent us from questioning him - that's how committed he is. He almost made it too. Then that idiot doctor Mitchell from Manticore talked the brass into letting him experiment on Cale, so now Cale can walk again. And I only got to interrogate him today - and the SOB held out. Don't ask me how - he is only human, but I swear he lied about everything important - half-truths and lies."  
  
"So he is smart and strong. He sounds like a good choice for breeding. Why do you quarrel with our reasoning? Or do you not think that we could control him? Is he stronger than us - a mere human?" The priestess held White's gaze firmly.  
  
"We have never chosen one who already knows of us for breeding. This goes against tradition," White argued.  
  
"The conclave has chosen to make an exception - the benefits are too good to pass up on this one. His family will be hostage to his behavior and he and will be carefully monitored - until the time comes for him to die. Make him understand, White, he will die very soon if he does not agree to this marriage - you will take care of that. If he does agree, his family's lawsuit will have our support and resources behind it. He will have a wife suitable for his place in society, and all we ask is that she be allowed to meet his family and friends, and introduce to them some of hers." She paused for a moment, "He does not need to know that his lifespan will not be longer than seven years after their child is born. This is important to your people, White, continue to work well for us."  
  
White stared unseeingly at the roses again, the bitter taste of frustration in his mouth. He hated Cale, and everything he stood for, yet he was apparently to protect the man now. White searched for a reason to agree other than duty, and was able to find one - his son. Once Cale was with the Familiars, on their ground, he would be able to get his son's whereabouts from him. White looked at the priestess and nodded, smiling, "As you will. From my fathers, to my son."  
  
***************  
  
Sebastian was thrilled with the results of the X5's raid and immediately set to work examining the information. Max was less than thrilled when she was told that it may take a few days to find and hack in to the right computer once Sebastian located the base where Logan had been taken. Patience was not Max's long suit.  
  
Syl and Krit hit it off immediately with Joshua, but like Max, inactivity did not sit well with them. Cindy and Max threatened and cajoled Normal into hiring them as Jam Pony messengers introducing Krit, who strongly resembled Max, as her brother and Syl as his girlfriend. Normal's reluctance to hire anyone related to Max quickly faded as the two soon outperformed all his other employees.  
  
Max gave Sebastian a couple of days to work before she showed up on his doorstep again. She rang the bell politely and waited for him to buzz her in, unlike with Logan, Max did not feel free to pick the lock and go in.  
  
"What's the good news, Sebastian? Any word on our boy?" she asked.  
  
"Not on Logan, no," Sebastian admitted, his artificial voice managing to sound sad, "But these files and e-mails are full of leads on this breeding cult - very fascinating. It appears their home base is in Utah - a town called Finnean. It is about a hundred miles east of Provo, and does not even appear on most maps."  
  
"Maybe I'll burn it down later. Right now I am more interested in which town Logan is in." Max perched on the edge of his desk. "There's gotta be some way we can find out, Sebastian! Is there anyone else's office we could raid? Get you more equipment or something?"  
  
"No, not now, " Sebastian began, when one of his computers beeped softly. He perked up. "A hit! My computers are programmed to alert me when they run across certain references." Max looked over his shoulder while he brought up the information on the monitor. "This is almost a week old - the day Logan was taken. 'Expected Seattle prisoner rerouted to Texas, medical emergency. Stand down order.'"  
  
Max swore in frustration. "Now we start all over again - and Texas is bigger than New Jersey. I happen to know there are more secret bases down there than on the east coast too! And Logan was hurt bad too - God, I hope he hasn't died!" She turned away as her eyes filled with tears.  
  
Sebastian watched her with sympathy. "Max, can you show me where these secret bases are? And their names? That will cut down on the time it will take to hack in considerably." Max nodded and flipped the pages of the atlas to a map of Texas. "Max, don't worry about Logan - he can take care of himself."  
  
************************  
  
White strode down the hallway of the medical wing impatiently. He had been pulled away from the Texas base for two days helping to track a transgenic in San Antonio that eventually eluded them and crossed into Mexico. Now he was angry on two counts - the conclave was on his back for an answer from Cale, and the inept San Antonio police had bungled the simple job of containing the transgenic.  
  
"Agent White - just the man I wanted to see," called Dr. Mitchell, hurrying up behind him.  
  
"What?" barked White, "I'm busy, so make it quick."  
  
"Well, its about Cale. He is very uncooperative with me and I wondered if you could help me understand why. After all, I gave him back the use of his legs, but he acts like it is a curse, not a blessing. I am sure he has made further progress in regaining function than he lets on, but he claims he can barely walk or feel," Dr. Mitchell complained, "I just don't understand why."  
  
"Maybe it has something to do with being used as a guinea pig for a very risky sugary. Or the fact that he has friends who are X5's - maybe even a girlfriend (or ex-girlfriend, if he told me the truth)," White suggested sarcastically.  
  
"Well, that could explain his reaction to receiving tissue from an X6, at least in part," mused the doctor, not paying attention to Whites first reason. "And why he cares so much about them being potential donors for other cures. I was not aware that he had a history with the X series subjects or that he saw them as human. So how do I get him to cooperate with me? This is a medical breakthrough that could make my career!"  
  
Before White could really think about it, he pinned the doctor up against the wall with one arm. He took a deep breath and let the doctor go - this was not the time or place, but man, he really hated that guy!  
  
"You can't, Doctor, " White made the title sound like an insult, "Cale is too smart - he saw through you from the beginning. You picked the wrong guinea pig. Don't make the same mistake everyone else is making and underestimate this guy - he will make you look like a fool." White walked off down the hall muttering to himself "Not that that would be too hard."  
  
White found Logan in the middle of a rehabilitation / physical therapy session, practicing walking between two bars. White curtly dismissed the therapist and locked the door behind him. Logan watched from his position between the bars with interest.  
  
"Is this round two?" he asked, making his way back down the bars to the wheelchair at the end. Logan knew he could walk perfectly well by himself, but kept of the pretense of shaky steps and weak legs for his own reasons.  
  
"If it was I'd have on my brass knuckles. This is just you and me, Cale, no cameras, no microphones, no audience."  
  
"No brass knuckles because you don't need them without an audience who doesn't know you really are, or because this isn't round two?"  
  
"This isn't round two. I've been ordered to make you a proposition by my real superiors. Your life if you join us," White left it at that and watched Logan's reaction.  
  
Logan nearly fell on the floor - it was the last thing he had ever expected to hear. Was White serious? There was nothing on his face to say that it was a joke.  
  
"Join you how?" he asked cautiously, "Are you talking that snake blood ceremony, or work for you, or what?"  
  
"You have been deemed suitable to marry one of us - you have the intelligence and family background that our leaders look for in outsiders. We use outsiders frequently to keep the gene pool strong and make connections socially, politically and financially with the rest of population." White paused for a moment. "I happen to disagree with their choice regarding you, but it is not my place to disobey, much as I might like to."  
  
"Just so I'm clear on all this, if I don't I die, right?"  
  
"Yes. You won't leave here alive. You know too much about us."  
  
"And if I agree, I marry whoever has been chosen for me, we have a baby and then I die, right?"  
  
"If you interfere with the raising of the child," White bent the truth - outsiders were automatically killed eventually, but sooner if they did interfere with the Familiars plans for the children. "If you play your cards right, you could die of old age." (If Cale managed to get away and hide well enough - not likely.)  
  
Logan thought quickly - no chance versus slim chance. White would have to move him out of this military base to wherever the Familiars were, if he played up the weak cripple and behaved like he was willing to go along with them, maybe their guard would go down long enough for him to escape.  
  
"So, this woman I am supposed to marry - is she pretty?" he asked.  
  
"I don't know who has been chosen."  
  
"Will I have to wear a tux? I left mine in Seattle."  
  
"That's up to your bride," White was getting irritated at Logan's flippant attitude, "Just keep your mouth shut about this. I have to make some arrangements, but we will be leaving in a couple of days." White headed for the door.  
  
"Are you going to be my best man?" Logan called after him. 


	4. Making plans

AN - This is not my best work (sort of Dynasty meets Dark Angel), but it does set up the next chapter, which I hope to post soon (if all goes well). Thanks for the good reviews!  
  
  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Two days later an orderly informed Logan in a hushed whisper that Dr. Mitchell had been found dead in his office, apparently of a heart attack. Logan believed the 'apparent' more than the 'heart attack' - he was sure this was part of White's 'arrangements to be made'. While Logan was neither surprised nor saddened by the news, his sense of justice would have preferred that the doctor stood trial for what Logan was sure he did to the Manticore children during his time there. Logan was also sure that White was also erasing all files relating to Logan's surgery and treatment by Dr. Mitchell.  
  
In reality, Ames White was doing more than that - he was preparing to lose Logan in the system. He requested permission from different officers to bring his prisoner to their facilities the first day, and on receiving permission, then informed them that another agency had priority over the case and they would not be arriving. Therefore, no one would be looking for Logan or wondering where he was at. By the third day, White was ready to remove Logan from the Texas base - where they were going depended on who was asking.  
  
The orderly tossed a stack of clothing on Logan's bed and told him to get dressed and ready to go. Logan complied without arguing (something he had never done with Dr, Mitchell), even though he disliked the military fatigue pants, jacket and T-shirt he was given. At least he was not given army boots - his own shoes had been returned to him. Early in the afternoon he was wheeled down the hallway to the door and escorted to a waiting car. White and two other men were waiting in the car, and they set off. Logan was disappointed when the car stopped at a private airstrip about an hour later - he had been hoping they would travel by car so he could find a way to slip away on the trip.  
  
White handed Logan an aluminum cane and the group walked over to a Lear jet.  
  
"This plane belongs to the conclave," White explained, "They loaned it to me to bring you back. To spare you a long trip in your delicate condition."  
  
Logan smiled gently and commented that his family used to have a plane like this one before fuel became so hard to get. White hated him even more. The men boarded and one of the two others climbed into the cockpit and took off. For the most part White and the others ignored Logan for the duration of the flight, which suited Logan fine. He reflected that he aluminum cane pretty well summed up how his enemies viewed him now - damaged enough to need a crutch, but too dangerous for a wooden cane.  
  
"Where are we going, anyway?" Logan finally asked.  
  
White saw no reason not to tell him. "Finnean, in Utah. It's our hometown. We have many towns, and live in all parts of this country - and many others, but Finnean is sort of our capital city," White smiled with amusement, "And it's where you will meet and marry your wife. You don't even need a fortune teller to know that, Cale -isn't that neat?" Logan ignored the sarcasm and went back to looking out the window.  
  
The plane touched down at another small airstrip several hours later, where a van was waiting to take them into the town. It was remarkably tidy, seemingly untouched by the pulse that had ravaged the rest of the nation. Logan felt like he had stepped a few decades back in time looking at the neat lawns and well maintained homes of the town. He saw clean, well- stocked stores, offices, and a medical building. Neatly dressed, clean-cut people moved around the streets and sidewalks unhurriedly and uniformed police stopped to chat with the townsfolk without drawing their guns. Logan thought about what it must take to keep things the way they were in this town - bribery, extortion, smuggling, intimidation and a healthy dose of repression for starters he guessed. It looked good, but in this world nothing good came cheap.  
  
The van pulled up at a large house near the edge of town and as the men got out the door opened and two women came out the front door to greet them. Logan carefully walked around the back of the van leaning heavily on his cane and saw White standing still, his face frozen in shock. Logan looked up at the house curiously. A handsome, if rather mannish-looking older woman was frowning at White while a younger and much lovelier woman was looking back at White with a look of concern on her face. Logan understood in a flash what was happening and a feeling of unholy glee swept through him - he was barely able to keep his face neutral as the younger woman shifted her gaze to him, looking him over appraisingly.  
  
"Fenes'tol, Mrs. Moorehead," White said, "This is Cale. I wasn't expecting to see Gina here. I thought she was still in New York."  
  
"It is time for Gina to do her duty to us all - don't forget that, White." Mrs. Moorehead turned to Logan and studied him head to toe. Logan felt like a cut of meat in a gourmet restaurant - he almost expected one of them to start prodding him for freshness. "Mr. Cale, I am glad to finally meet you. I do not think you will regret your decision to join us. Let me introduce Gina Howarth, the woman you will marry in ten days time."  
  
Logan pulled himself up straighter and brought out his most charming smile; for the first time in years he was grateful for all the business parties and meetings he had been forced to attend until he moved out on his own. "It is very nice to see you too, ma'am - it sure beats the alternative," he said with a slight bow, guessing that this was a woman of power in the cult.  
  
He turned to the younger woman and looked her over with the same deliberation she had given him, and had to admit she was extremely beautiful. Gina was somewhere around five and a half feet tall, about half a head shorter than Logan, with dark reddish-brown hair and hazel eyes, a straight nose and flawless skin. She was not truly thin, but had pleasing curves displayed by the well-tailored white silk blouse and camel colored wool trousers she wore. If Logan had any reservations about her appearance, it was with her mouth - her lips were pursed together in a straight line, showing cool self-control, rather than warmth, or even embarrassment or shyness.  
  
"Miss Howarth, you defy all expectations," he said, stepping forward as Gina walked towards him.  
  
"All things considered, you can call me Gina," she said, "We only have nine days for a traditional courtship, so we may as well start out on a first name basis." She was pleasantly surprised by Logan - the dossier on him had his basic background, a few articles he had written, and some pictures of him in his wheelchair. She had been expecting a geekish invalid, not a tall, well- built, and very handsome man. "You defy my expectations, too."  
  
"Let's go inside," ordered Mrs. Moorehead, "I am sure Mr. Cale would like to sit down, and we have a lot to discuss. Ames, please come with me. Gina, take Mr. Cale to the living room." As White brushed past Logan and headed into the house, Logan could see White's hands were clenched into fists and a seed of an idea started to form in his head. Logan fought down the urge to dance up the stairs and concentrated on walking up them with overly cautious, shaking steps and making conspicuous use of the cane.  
  
Mrs. Moorehead led White into the study and shut the door. "I didn't tell you that Gina had been chosen for Cale because I knew you would oppose it, and perhaps even try to sabotage the match, or worse," the priestess launched immediately into the attack, "If I could have I would have sent someone else to approach Cale and bring him here. Your job is done now, Ames. I know how you feel towards Gina, but this marriage will happen, so back off now. Let Gina handle Cale, and when Cale has outlived his usefulness, you two can get back together again."  
  
"I understand.,' White said, "This is quite a shock, what with me being led to believe that Gina was still in New York." White rubbed his hand through his hair and checked out his appearance in an ornate mirror. "I won't interfere with the wedding, I promise, but I reserve the right to remain friends with Gina - she may need me when it comes to handling Cale."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Cale has a way of making people underestimate him," White struggled for the words to explain his concerns without sounding ridiculous, "But I think he knows far more than he lets on - he listens, he watches, and he learns. I told you - he works for Eyes Only, and Eyes Only brought down Cale Industries probably on information that Logan Cale provided. Two questions there: how did Cale find out about the killer hoverdrones, and why did he tell Eyes Only? You think he can be controlled by threats to his family, but maybe he is not that fond of his family."  
  
"He is helping his cousin regain control of the corporation, perhaps for his own gain but it suits our needs," Mrs. Moorehead looked at White seriously for a moment," I am not dismissing your concerns, Ames, we will all watch him carefully, but you do need to back down here." White nodded with resignation and the two joined the others in the living room.  
  
Logan was drinking iced tea and chatting casually with Gina and comparing her to all the women his Aunt Margo used to set him up with - beautiful, intelligent, well connected ice princesses totally hung up on money and social standing. He found it ironic that he now had to thank his aunt for forcing him to go on all those horrible dates, because of that he now knew how to recognize and handle this type of woman. Mrs. Moorehead and White entered the living room and seated themselves.  
  
"Mr. Cale, we need to clarify this situation, make sure we each understand what to expect from the other. And what the consequences of not living up to them may be for you," said the older woman, "You will return to Seattle with Gina after your marriage and continue to work with your cousin to regain control of Cale Industries. When you win the lawsuit, and here you will have our help, you will take your place with Bennett Cale as a president of the company."  
  
Nothing of what she said in laying out the terms of the deal came as a surprise to Logan, he had figured all of that out days ago - their wanting him in Seattle made all the details very easy to see. "You seem labor under the delusion that I am a business man," Logan objected, "I'm not. I'm a journalist - a writer. In fact, I disappointed my own family many times over with that fact."  
  
"You will join your family's business, Cale, but you can leave the business decisions to Gina and just rubber-stamp her orders. Later you can let her take over completely and you can go back to writing your little stories, if it makes you happy," Mrs. Moorehead said firmly.  
  
'Little stores' - how often had Logan heard that from his father and uncle? Logan managed to keep his expression neutral, but Mrs. Moorehead thought she saw a glint of anger in his blue eyes. She looked again and Logan's eyes showed nothing but mild resignation, so she decided she must have just seen a reflection on his glasses.  
  
"We will have dinner now," said Mrs. Moorehead, "Then Mr. Cale should go to his room and rest. We have much to do before the wedding, and we don't want you to become ill again." She rose and began to lead the group to the dining room, then paused. "By the way, Cale, on the advice of Ames I have had every phone and computer removed from this house. He told us you were a hacker and very good with electronic devices. I don't think you will find anything more complicated than the TV set here, and there is no cable here. Our cell phones as well as the staffs will be locked up when not in use also. I am telling you this up front so you don't get any ideas." Logan was disappointed, but once again not surprised.  
  
The next day Gina announced at breakfast that she would take Logan shopping to buy him clothes. At the stores Logan quickly began to feel like a Ken- doll as Gina had him try on dozens of shirts, shoes and pairs of pants. It was pointless to try and argue with Gina that he didn't care for the clothes she was choosing - tailored slacks, jackets and shirts (some in silk) that were all far more her style than his, Gina just pointed out when he protested her choices that they had a position in society to uphold and he needed to dress the part.. Logan finally pleaded exhaustion and sat down while she decided which items to buy, but before they left the store Gina insisted that Logan wear some of his new clothes and tossed out the fatigues and T-shirt he had worn. Before they went home Gina took Logan to lunch at a small cafe. The restaurant was fairly quiet at that time of day and Logan had no problem spotting the man who was watching him - he had seen him in the store browsing the racks while Gina shopped and no man ever took that long to shop for his own clothes. Logan leaned closer to Gina and started to flirt mildly with her. Gina was startled, but pleased and responded cautiously. When they finished lunch Logan stood and pulled Gina's chair out for her as she stood, kissing her lightly on the cheek as she rose.  
  
"What was that for?" she asked.  
  
"As you said, we only have nine days for courtship," he replied, "so a kiss on the first date should not be considered out of line." Gina looked at him suspiciously, but Logan just smiled charmingly and followed her to the car.  
  
The couple returned to Mrs. Moorehead's home and handed the packages over to the butler to take care of (she had a butler, cook and housekeeper on the premises) and settled down on the back porch to relax. They spoke little except for generalities, giving Logan had a depressing view of the future - if things got that far. Out of the corner of his eye he glimpsed a figure in a dark suit and edged his chair closer to Gina's, leaning nearer so their shoulders were nearly touching. She looked up at him inquiringly and he reached over and smoothed a lock of her hair back out of her face.  
  
"How sweet. Gina, may I speak to you in private, please?" Ames White said coldly. Gina stood and preceded White back into the house. Logan waited for a few moments, then headed inside himself. As he went towards the stairs to go to his room he heard White's voice raised in frustration coming from the study. Logan paused to listen.  
  
"You really think he is so besotted with your beauty he's forgotten everything else? Gina, you're supposed to be a smart girl and here you are letting this guy paw at you and pull the wool over your eyes. I heard about the scene at the restaurant too!"  
  
"I thought your men were there to keep Logan from trying to escape, not spy on us for you," said Gina angrily, "Get over it, Ames, I will marry Logan and have a child with him - like you and your wife did. I didn't get mad at you for playing your part with her, did I? So what if he finds me attractive? It just makes everything easier for us all."  
  
Logan continued on up the stairs, quite pleased with himself. He glanced down from the top of the stairs and saw White glaring up at him. In the door of the living room another man was also watching him. Logan reflected that something would have to be done about all the surveillance.  
  
"Cale - you may not be Eyes Only, but you'd still better watch your step," White snarled at him, "Oh, didn't you catch the latest Eyes Only broadcast? That's right - no cable here. You might not have been interested anyway, it wasn't about you; he talked about a slave labor ring near Yakima. Stupid of me to ever consider that you might have been Eyes Only - a guy like you would never have the guts."  
  
"I'm flattered that you did. Thanks, Ames - you really made my day." Logan went to his room thinking that White had made his day in many ways. Nice to know his friends had picked up where he left off with Eyes Only - must be Sebastian and the S1W, no one else would have the resources. But had Sebastian told Asha his secret?  
  
*************************************  
  
Actually, Logan would have been surprised to know that it was actually Alec who did the Eyes Only broadcast. He and Krit had played a hand of poker for the right to record the sound using a voice synthesizer Sebastian set up and a video from a previous broadcast. Krit would get to do the next one. The X5's were staving off boredom by doing legwork for some cases that Logan had been working on, as well as gathering equipment and supplies so they could be ready to leave the moment Sebastian had a location on Logan. Alec was truly enjoying working with the other X5's - as the one who had spent almost all his life in Manticore, he had missed the company of his own kind. Finally Max got a page from Sebastian to come over after work. The four biked over as quickly as they could.  
  
"What's the news, Sebastian? Did you find him? Is he okay?" Max asked eagerly.  
  
"Not exactly, Max. More like I didn't find him - anywhere he was supposed to go," Sebastian replied.  
  
"Explain please, for those of us who can't follow convoluted logic."  
  
"I found at least five requests to move a prisoner matching Logan's description and status to various facilities, each request then followed by a message saying that one of the other places had priority over him and he would not be going to their facility. Understand?" Sebastian looked at Max and the others expectantly.  
  
"Classic. Absolutely textbook," Syl nodded, "That is how you lose something in the bureaucracy. So where does that leave us now? Do you have any leads at all?"  
  
"Just one - more of a guess really. It's more of the timing that raises flags." Sebastian seemed hesitant to speak.  
  
"C'mon already - do we have to play twenty questions or are you gonna spill it?" Alec demanded impatiently.  
  
"White put in for time off shortly after he arrested Logan, time to begin immediately I mean. He is on leave now. I find this almost incomprehensible, to arrest an important prisoner, then go on vacation." The X5's nodded agreement.  
  
"So you think he took Logan to Disneyland?" asked Max facetiously.  
  
"Not if the contact number he left is genuine. Remember that town you said you might burn down later?"  
  
"Okay guys, put arson on your to-do list for this week and pack your matches." Max stood up and grabbed her jacket, "Not to mention your most conservative clothes - we're going to Utah."  
  
"You may want to include something bigger than matches - Finnean isn't just a one stoplight town. I prepared a file for you with everything I could find, Max - maps, political histories, ownership records of the major buildings and such - these should give you a good feel for the place. I also got you passes all the way to Utah." Sebastian smiled at her look of surprise and gratitude.  
  
"Thanks, Sebastian - Logan himself couldn't have done a better job." She kissed him on the cheek. "We leave first thing in the morning and we'll be back with him just as soon as possible."  
  
"Please be careful - all of you. Logan wouldn't want anyone to get themselves killed for him," Sebastian said earnestly.  
  
"Hey, don't worry," Krit said cheerfully, "It's what we were designed for!" 


	5. An evil twist

A/N Costco-sized apologies to those who wanted to review earlier, but couldn't because it was closed to anonymous review. I had no idea that setting was on and have turned it off. Many thanks to those who told me about it.  
  
Sorry I took so long to post another chapter - I got very uspet when I heard they were cancelling our show and have been emailing Fox in protest. I hope everyone else will do the same, or write, sign petitions, whatever or all of the above - I think if we can get Fox's attention we can get Dark Angel back!  
  
  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Alec showed Krit his favorite spots to steal cars, and together they chose a not too flashy Honda sedan with a full tank of gas from the parking lot of a waterfront gambling den. Max and Syl were waiting for them with Original Cindy and all their gear was quickly stashed in the car.  
  
"You best be takin' real care, boo," said Cindy giving Max a hard hug, "You all come back with roller-boy or I'll have to come after you and put the smackdown on some asses."  
  
"Ours or White's?" kidded Max, "Cindy - for real, don't you dare come after us or tell anyone where we've gone. Stay down and play dumb - I don't wanna have to worry about you too."  
  
"You got it, boo," said Cindy, "But I will be making peace with Normal for you, you still owe for your half of the rent."  
  
The four piled in the car and drove quickly through the checkpoints out of the city, following the ruined highways south. The tense camaraderie quickly degenerated into sibling teasing and squabbling. Alec felt it his duty to tell every Max-story he knew and for the next couple of hundred miles she was routinely called "Kurvaceous Killer" instead of Max. They stopped to change drivers more often than strictly necessary, just to get out of the car and away from each other, or to look for gasoline. Some towns were friendly to the strangers and willing to sell them gas, at others they left without or resorted to theft or bribery. Finally, after one particularly bad stretch of driving, Max and Alec came to blows. Syl and Krit cheered them on until Syl got bored and wandered into a little roadside store near where they stopped. She returned a short while later smiling triumphantly and ordered everyone back in the car.  
  
"Okay, everyone, here's how it goes," Syl announced, opening a small package, "You each get a card and we play Back Seat Bingo while we drive from now on." There were groan all around, but everyone took a card and played, the simple child's game easing tensions considerably.  
  
******************************  
  
One thing Logan knew for sure – he had to get rid of his watchdogs and soon. Except for his room, everywhere he went someone was always watching his every move, and the date chosen for his marriage was fast approaching. Logan was sure that it would be harder for him to escape the closer the wedding got. Gina had taken him on a tour of Greater Finnean which alternately bored and disgusted him, and now Logan was back in his room cleaning up before meeting with Gina again in the living room for tea. Deciding he had couldn't delay any longer, Logan made his way carefully downstairs.  
  
"You don't seem to be walking any easier, Logan," said Gina, watching him from the foot of the stairs.  
  
"No," replied Logan, easily lying through his teeth, "I don't think the doctor's treatment was nearly as successful as he thought it should be. But at least I won't be in a wheelchair for our wedding." He smiled brilliantly at her.  
  
While Gina took such comments with a grain of salt, she had to agree with him that it was better – for her- that the bridegroom should be standing on his own two feet. She smiled back and led the way into the living room. The couple settled on the sofa and Logan skillfully steered the conversation to Gina's favorite topic – herself. Now he could let his mind wander to more important things while only half listening to her and making the appropriate response occasionally. Therefore, it was Logan who was the only one to hear the door open and a man's footsteps in the hall heading for the living room.  
  
"Hey," he interrupted her softly, "Have I told you how lovely you are?" He cupped her face in his hand, and when she did not pull back, slipped his hand to the back of her head, leaned in and kissed her. Gina was surprised, but curious, and did not resist. She was not disappointed – Logan was a very good kisser. The embrace was roughly interrupted when Ames White pulled Logan away from Gina.  
  
"What's wrong with you?" demanded Logan indignantly, "Can't a man kiss his fiancée?" He stood up and faced White. "You'd better keep away from us in the future, White," then he turned to Gina, "and you had better see to that he does – I will not be wondering who my wife is seeing behind my back, much less whose child I am raising."  
  
Logan turned his back on Gina's shocked face and limped to the stairs.  
  
"Get away from me, Ames," said Gina curtly. White headed after Logan, his face tight with fury. Logan was more than halfway up the stairs when White reached him.  
  
"How dare you talk to her that way!" White shouted, "I oughtta –"  
  
"Ought to what?" Logan shouted back, "She not yours to fight for anymore, remember? And soon I'll be doing a whole lot more than kissing her!" Logan heard the swift clicking of Gina's shoes coming to the living room door and knew he had to act now or never and threw himself backwards down the stairs with a yell.  
  
Gina had heard the men shouting on the stairs and stood in hesitation for a few moments before deciding to break them up. She emerged from the living room just in time to see Logan falling down the stairs as if pushed, with White standing stock still on the steps.  
  
"Ames – how could you?" shrieked Gina, running to Logan, "Call an ambulance!" she ordered the butler, who came running with Mrs. Moorehead on his heels.  
  
"What happened?" asked Mrs. Moorehead.  
  
"Ames saw Logan kissing me, and then pushed him down the stairs," Gina gave her the short version.  
  
Despite his pain, Logan felt a deep satisfaction. "I can't move my legs," he gasped, ratcheting the tension up a notch.  
  
"He's lying, faking it – just like the fall! I didn't push him – he did it on purpose!" White protested with a scowl.  
  
"Oh, right," said Gina in disbelief, "I saw it, Ames - I am so sure he would hurl himself downstairs when he just got his legs back."  
  
"Whether he is faking or not is something the doctor will decide," Mrs. Moorehead said, "But you will not be around Mr. Cale anymore, Ames, or Gina while she and Cale are married." White strode out of the house without another word. Logan contentedly let his consciousness slip away for a while.  
  
When he next awoke, Logan was right where he expected to be – in a hospital bed with a doctor hovering over him. Feeling unnaturally bright and alert, Logan took a few moments to get back into character. He wrinkled his brow as he turned his head to the doctor and said softly, "Doctor – I can't move my legs. Is it permanent – did I re-injure my spine?"  
  
"I don't know if it is permanent, Mr. Cale," the doctor said, "We will run some tests, of course, but really only time will tell." The doctor poked, prodded and tested Logan's spine and legs and shook his head sadly as went to report to Mrs. Moorehead and Gina.  
  
"It looks like the paralysis has returned. I don't find any damage to the spine itself, but he has definitely lost nerve function in his legs," the doctor concluded, "No normal human could withstand the nerve stimulation I used on his legs – the pain should have forced some sort of reaction if there was any feeling at all."  
  
"Is there any hope the function will come back? Can you do anything for him?" Gina asked.  
  
"I don't know. Maybe it will heal again on its own. I'd like to see what the other doctor did for him, though," the doctor said.  
  
"I will get his file from White for you," said Mrs. Moorehead, "Do what you can – and keep an eye on him, doctor."  
  
Gina visited with Logan for a while after Mrs. Moorehead left and gave him the doctor's report, along with the cheery news that the wedding could still go on as planned. Logan decided to put the next phase of his plan into action as soon as possible. Gina eventually left and the hospital began to quiet down for the night. Logan knew there was a possibility that his room was being monitored, but he had to take the risk. He dozed until the small hours of the night, then slipped out of bed, checked that the hallway was deserted, and made his way through the hospital until he found an unoccupied office with a computer. The security system on the computer was laughable for a hacker of Logan's skills, and he was soon online. He sent a quick message, checked out a few other things and erased all evidence of his presence on the computer before shutting it back down. He was back in his bed in less than half an hour. Tomorrow he would leave, he decided - it was dangerous to wait another day, but he had to get something first and he had found out that it would be at the hospital tomorrow.  
  
***************************  
  
The car full of X5's pulled into Finnean in the midmorning and found an open diner. They were barely speaking to each other by this point, but relaxed over a decent meal.  
  
"What first?" asked Krit, "We can't check into a hotel until later in the day. I guess that leaves reconnaissance, but where should be start?"  
  
Max pulled out the maps and other reports Sebastian had given them. "I have no idea," she admitted, "If he is being kept at someone's house he could be anywhere in town. Here is the police station and jail, and over here is the town hall. Do you believe this town only has one church? You know what that means."  
  
"One church, one religion," replied Alec, "One way of thinking, one breeding cult. Yeah, we got it."  
  
"My guess would be the jail," said Krit, refusing to be sidetracked, "Maybe one of us should get arrested."  
  
"Bad idea, real way-bad idea," disagreed Max, "Might as well take out a billboard to advertise our being here with the slogan 'Come and get us'! I think we should case the place from the outside and see if we can get plans for it somewhere. I also think we should try and snoop around, see if we can pick up some gossip around town."  
  
"How about Alec and I head towards the church and that shopping area, see what we can see, while you and Krit check out the police station and town hall. We can meet up at the hotel in a couple of hours," suggested Syl. Her plan was adopted and the group split up and headed into town.  
  
Even Alec was stunned by the size of the church as he and Syl walked around the outside. Neither of them ever considered going in - discretion was the better part of valor, and they didn't think they would learn anything inside anyway. They did better at the mall - Syl at least found a cherry red sweater to buy. Max and Krit walked slowly past the police station and jail and were not fooled by its friendly, unprepossessing exterior - there were few doors and windows and the walls were very solid. The bars on the windows of the jail were firmly in place and made of hardened iron. "It'll be a job to get him out of there if that's where he is," said Max quietly, "I hope we got enough of the right stuff." The town hall was less intimidating and they walked right in. There was not much to see - offices, and meeting rooms and some exhibits donated by prominent citizens. Max looked at the artifacts and artworks displayed with cards explaining what they were and who donated or loaned them - many of the names of the donors were familiar to her. After thinking about it for a few minutes Max realized the names were those of wealthy and influential citizens across the country, and filed that piece of information away for later consideration. They left the town hall to meet up with Syl and Alec, not much wiser.  
  
A bored hotel clerk checked them in to two rooms, accepting without much interest their story of passing through on their way to Aspen. Max grabbed her bags out of the car (one they picked up in Nevada, not the one they left Seattle with) and headed up to their rooms. She pulled out the laptop Sebastian had given her and hooked it up to the phone line.  
  
"Lets see if he has anything for us today," she said to Syl, accessing email, To her surprise there was an urgent message for her from Sebastian. Max shrieked as she opened it, not only sending Syl to her side at a run, but bringing Alec and Krit bursting into the room in a blur. "Logan sent Sebastian a message early this morning - late last night - whatever! He's in the hospital here! Look - Sebastian forwarded the message 'S - In hosp, leaving soon. May need ticket. Be in touch, L."  
  
"Alright, we got a location, need a plan," Krit said with a wolfish smile, "Its gotta be easier than the jail."  
  
"Sebastian got us the plan of the hospital - piece of cake," Max said confidently.  
  
"Wait a sec - Logan said in his email that he was leaving soon. Maybe he's already got a plan of his own," Alec pointed out.  
  
"No, were gonna go get him. Tonight. Let's get ready, get some rest and go kick some selectively bred ass."  
  
*************************  
  
Gina dropped an overnight bag at the foot of Logan's bed and started unpacking it. It was well after visiting hours, a fact that didn't seem to bother Gina at all, who had just come from a pre-wedding party .Logan noticed that Gina had left the door open, but there was little noise from the hallway since most of the staff had already left for the night.  
  
"I brought a change of clothes for you to wear when you leave here. The doctor said he is going to look over your file in the morning and he may want to run a few more tests, but you can leave tomorrow afternoon at the latest.," she said hanging up a blue silk shirt and black slacks in the rooms small closet.  
  
"I still can't feel my legs," complained Logan, "I don't want to get married from a wheelchair."  
  
"I've got a newsflash for you," countered Gina, "I'm not marrying you for your legs, just as you haven't been kissing me because of your overwhelming love for me."  
  
"So why have I been kissing you," teased Logan, a little voice in his head mocking him that no woman ever wanted him for his looks or body.  
  
"To get at Ames. I figured that out pretty quick, Logan"  
  
Logan saw a figure hovering in the hallway, and smiled persuasively at Gina. "That wasn't the only reason - come over here and I'll prove it." He took Gina's hand and pulled her closer, maneuvering her between him and the door. He drew her head down and kissed her lingeringly on the lips.  
  
"What the hell!?!"  
  
Logan's eyes snapped open and Gina pulled away from him and spun around. They were confronted by a petite dark figure radiating anger from every pore.  
  
"Max?" said Logan in disbelief, "What are you doing here?" 


	6. Gotta blaze!

A/N Sorry again for the long delay in posting the next chapter - I hope it was worth the wait. I had company for a few days, plus I have been writing letters and emails to try and save "Dark Angel". I hope everyone else is too - I refuse to give up!  
  
Chapter 6  
  
"Max," said Logan in disbelief, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Saving your sorry ass," snapped Max, "But I am not sure from what - or who - anymore." Max had envisioned many nightmare scenarios of how she would find Logan when they finally caught up to him - Logan tortured and dying, Logan unconscious or brainwashed, even chained to a wall and beaten to a bloody pulp. But she never imagined she would find him lying comfortably in bed passionately kissing a beautiful woman. Max felt both betrayed and enraged.  
  
"Logan, dear, aren't you going to introduce me to your little friend?" Gina requested sweetly. Well, she thought, if Logan can use me to play games with Ames, I can do the same with him and his friend.  
  
"Gina, this is Max, my ex-girlfriend, and just coming in behind her is her brother Krit," Logan smiled at Krit, genuinely happy to see him, "Hey, Krit. Just introducing Max to Gina, my fiancée. Nice of you guys to come. I'd have sent invitations to the wedding but it's such short notice and I didn't have your addresses with me."  
  
"Wow, Logan, you don't waste time!" said Krit, much impressed, "One day you're kidnapped, the next you're marrying into the family. But I gotta ask - do they kill snakes at the weddings too?"  
  
"I don't know, I'm just the bridegroom, and men don't generally get much say in the wedding plans. How does it work, Gina?" he asked, curious, "Is there like a two handled knife we use to cut off a snakes head together? Or just dance around with one?"  
  
Gina was momentarily stunned that these people knew of the cult, but recovered rapidly - she was not slow to figure out the significance of their knowing either. "No," said Gina, "No snakes at weddings, only at religious rituals. You won't have to be around them, since you will never be truly one of us." She pulled a small gun out of her pocket and pointed it at Max. "Ames showed me your picture and told me to watch for you. I didn't expect to meet you so soon, but this is a nice wedding present for me - getting to capture the most wanted transgenic. Looks like I get the man and get rid of the old girlfriend too!"  
  
Gina was completely caught off guard when Logan jumped out of bed and snatched the gun from her hand.  
  
"That's no way to treat a guest. Now Max won't want to be your bridesmaid. Actually, that works out okay as I don't want Ames to be my best man since he tossed me downstairs," Logan chided her. He was barely able to hear Max mutter something about how White needed a bigger staircase. "You know something, Gina? I just don't think this marriage will work out - we are from two different worlds, two different philosophies. I believe in working hard to make the world a better place for everyone and using my family's money to help people, You believe in killing off anyone who doesn't measure up to your family's standards and using their money to further your people's ambitions. I'm not religious, you're a snake- worshipper. I'm a liberal, you're a Republican. It just won't work, my dear, better to call it off now."  
  
"And you'll be in a wheelchair for real when we get married, but it won't be because of your legs, Logan Cale,!" spat Gina, but before she could yell for help Max was on top of her. Logan jumped out of the way as the two hit the floor, and Krit shut the door and locked it. The two men watched the battle for a moment, then Logan went and got his clothes from the closet.  
  
"Man, oh man," said Krit, "Now two women fighting over you. How do you do it? I have got to get lessons!"  
  
"It's a gift," said Logan, stepping into the black slacks Gina had brought for him, Max struck Gina one last time and knocked her out. The fight had actually been over quickly - Gina was strong and agile, but no match for Max's years of training and experience. Max looked over at Logan as he was shrugging into his shirt and the sharp remark she was going to make died in her suddenly dry throat. When had she last seen him shirtless - or had she ever really? Had it only been in her fantasies? Logan noticed her staring, and quickly buttoned up his blue shirt.  
  
Max and Krit placed Gina on the bed. Logan pointed out the restraints stored under the bed and they used those to tie her down. Logan put on his shoes and the yuppie black leather jacket Gina picked out for him - he was going to hear about that, he knew already.  
  
"You won't make it, Logan," said Gina, waking up again, "Now you will die for sure - Ames will see to that. Too bad - we could have made it work, for a while at least."  
  
"No, it never would have worked. I already knew too much about your people. Besides," Logan said, leaning in close, "I'd rather try to make it work with my ex-girlfriend. But we can still be friends." Logan had seen something in Max's eyes that gave him hope. He quickly gagged Gina and headed for the door where Krit was waiting. Max whispered something in Gina's ear before following. She knew Krit could probably hear what she said, but she would have died if she knew Logan heard too.  
  
"Keep your hands off my man or I will shave you bald with a dull and rusty knife," Max had told Gina. Logan's heart soared - had she already broken up with Alec?  
  
The three left the room, Logan pulling his chart from the box outside the door and flipping through it quickly. "Just a second - I need to get something here," he said heading for the nursing station with Max and Krit on his heels.  
  
"Excuse me, ma'am," said Logan to the night nurse with his best smile, "I need the rest of this patient's chart."  
  
"I'm sorry, sir. Patient charts are confidential and only hospital staff and the patient themselves can see them." She held out her hand for the file Logan was holding.  
  
"That works - its my file," Logan was searching the nurses station as he spoke, and Max and Krit stepped in to help. The nurse reached for the phone and Krit grabbed her at the neck with one hand, then lowered her unconscious body to the floor.  
  
"This it?" asked Max after searching the doctor's boxes on the wall, and opening up the packages within. In a padded mailer she found a file with Logan's name on it. Logan took it and briefly scanned it, nodding. "Let's go then."  
  
"Sorry - just need to take care of one more thing here," Logan said, typing quickly on the computer. Max and Krit noticed he was making frequent use of the delete key. He went deeper into the computer's harddrive and made sure that all the files he had deleted were unrecoverable. Now there was no trace of Logan Cale anywhere on the hospital computer, nor of any tests done on him or the results. Satisfied, Logan headed for the front exit, but Krit shook his head.  
  
"This way, Alec's holding the way out open and Syl is guarding the car." Krit led the way to a corridor to the left of the nursing station. "Not that we expect much trouble - we made some fairly large distractions for the good townspeople. The police and fire departments should be busy for a while."  
  
"What'd you blow up?" asked Logan interestedly.  
  
"Why do you always assume explosions? Maybe we just set a nice little fire," replied Krit defensively, then admitted, "We set a charge in the church's fuel oil tank, and one at the back of the town hall. They should have gone off about twenty minutes ago. We're betting there's an armory in one or both locations."  
  
"Probably," agreed Logan, "They are getting ready for something."  
  
"Syl should have rigged the generator here to blow up too," Max informed him, "She'll set it off when she sees us, or in about another ten minutes if she doesn't."  
  
Alec seemed to appear from out of the wall as the three walked rapidly down the hallway. He looked Logan up and down and grinned wickedly. "Dude – where's the frat party?"  
  
"Kegger at Logan's," agreed Krit, "Killer yuppie threads – I'm betting his fiancée picked them out."  
  
"Fiancée? As in wife-to-be? Is she pretty?" Alec asked.  
  
"Literally to die for! Max was so upset when she saw them kissing she tried to kill her – what's her name again, Logan – Ginger?" Krit informed him enthusiastically, "Logan's gonna give me lessons – want to sit in?"  
  
"Her name is Gina and she's my ex-fiancée – or did you miss the part where I broke up with her?" said Logan giving both of them a haughty glare.  
  
"I don't know if this is the right time or place to tell you this, but Max lied to you about us," said Alec to Logan, suddenly serious.  
  
"Shut up, Alec," said Max furiously, grabbing Alec and holding him back as the other two moved rapidly on, "I'll tell Logan when I'm ready!"  
  
"I think he already figured it out, Max, and not from what I just said. If you beat up what's-her-name just because Cale was kissing her, he probably bought a clue from that already." Alec shook off her hand and hurried to catch up with Krit and Logan. Max heard footsteps behind her and ran after the men, who heard her running and turned to see several armed security men running up behind Max.  
  
"Listen," Logan said urgently, "If there is any possibility that we don't make it out of this town, this file gets destroyed. Shred it, burn it, feed it to wild pigs – I don't care, but no one but us gets their hands on it! It's more important than my life or any of yours that this doesn't fall into the wrong hands – I mean it seriously, understand?" The X5's looked at him and the medical file he held curiously, but raised as soldiers they knew an order when they heard one.  
  
"Yes, sir! Matches ready, sir!" quipped Alec, as the four sped out the door into the parking lot.  
  
Logan saw Syl perched on the hood of an SUV looking absurdly youthful in her cherry red sweater with her blond hair tied back by a matching red ribbon. Five men in dark suits surrounded her, but she looked unworried as she waved to them. "Hi Logan! Good to see you again – and on your feet! But since when do you do the GQ dork look?"  
  
"And nice to see you too, Syl," said Logan. The men around her turned to face the group that came out of the hospital, but Logan and the X5s saw Syl's hand drop back down to the jacket that sat beside her on the hood of the car, so none of them were surprised when an explosion blew up the generator at the side of the building, plunging the hospital and parking lot into darkness.  
  
Syl sprang straight up into the air, leaping over the men lunging towards her. She did a flip in midair, landing on the hood of the SUV, then immediately launched herself onto two of the men, knocking them down. Syl sprang up and squared off against a third as Krit blurred over to help her. Logan, Max and Alec faced the armed security men, the X5s moving faster than the eye could follow. Logan grabbed the gun arm of the one closest to him, spun on his heel and drove his elbow into the man's solar plexus, then he was able to easily twist the gun out of the guard's hand and knock him out with it. Logan used the gun to shoot another guard who was taking aim at Alec, who along with Max, was taking out the remaining security guards. The three moved toward the other fight, where Syl and Krit were being overpowered by the five Familiars.  
  
"Give it up, Cale," said their leader, "Tell your friends to surrender and you can get out of this alive. I won't pretend the transgenics will, but we can make their deaths painless."  
  
"What do you think, Logan? Personally, I'm underwhelmed by the deal," said Max sarcastically.  
  
"I think we can do better, Max." said Logan gravely, "There is room to negotiate."  
  
"Negotiate this!" snarled Max, launching herself into the air and sweeping a kick to the head of one of the men holding Syl. The man was able to grab Max's leg as he went down and the two rolled over in the parking lot. Syl broke free from the other man and threw a powerful blow to his jaw, making him reel back. Alec tackled one of Krit's opponents, while the leader grappled with Logan over the gun.  
  
"White guessed your mutant friends would come for you, but no one really believed him, until the explosions went off tonight," the leader said, "Not very subtle, are they? I got my team together and came here to watch for them, but they were already here, so we just waited by the car."  
  
"Not subtle perhaps, but effective," gasped Logan, as the man slammed Logan's hand against the car, causing the gun to go flying across the parking lot. Logan stomped on the man's foot, making him loosen his grip on Logan's arm so Logan was able to pull away and defend himself. One on one, the X5's were slowly winning the battle with the Familiars, when Krit finally dropped his opponent for good and helped Syl finish her battle. Alec danced away from his adversary, found an opening and landed a kick in his stomach, then, as the man doubled over, Alec spun around and delivered a heel to his head finishing the fight. Glowing with victory, Alec looked over to see if Logan or Max needed help. Max was pounding her opposite's head into the asphalt, but Logan had just been knocked to the ground, and the leader was springing forward to jump on his prone body. Before Alec or any of the others could react, Logan shot one of his legs up, catching the man in the chest and he came down on Logan. Logan reached up and caught the Familiar by the shoulders and redirected his motion in the air so that instead of landing on Logan, he rode Logan's foot past his body and crashed headfirst into the car. The team leader did not get up, but Logan did.  
  
"Nice move," admired Alec, "Where did you learn that?"  
  
"Product of a misspent youth. I used to watch Jackie Chan movies all the time," admitted Logan, "And I really think we should take this mutual admiration society to a new location."  
  
"He means we should haul ass out of here," translated Syl to Krit, "I think he's right too."  
  
The five piled in the car, Krit at the wheel. "Where to?" he asked.  
  
"There's a little airport at the east edge of town - you know it?" Logan replied.  
  
"Sure - we looked at the map," Krit said casually. Logan smiled - he loved dealing with the Manticore alumni - they almost never required explanations.  
  
"Told you he had a plan," Alec said smugly to Max, "So Logan, what happened to you anyway?"  
  
"Cliff notes version - White and his guys took me because they knew I was involved with Max and Eyes Only, but they rehurt my back when they arrested me. They took me a base in Texas where an ex-Manticore doctor did experimental surgery on me. Then the conclave got involved - they want Cale Industries and into Seattle society, I was an easy way to get both - if I married one of them. Or else. White could have done me in any time he wanted to, and this was a chance to escape, so I accepted."  
  
"So what's in that file that is so important?" Krit asked.  
  
"Dr. Mitchell's experimental surgery notes. I haven't had a chance to look at them - I am not really sure what all he did to me, but I don't want anyone outside of us to know either," Logan explained.  
  
"Mitchell?" Max exclaimed, "He was one of the chief sadists at Manticore! God, Logan - you're lucky to be alive!"  
  
The car pulled up to the gates of the airstrip. There was a small knot of men standing around outside a private jet. A couple were dressed in mechanics' coveralls, one in a flight jacket and jeans, the others were in business suits and overcoats. Krit smoothly drove the car past the gate and around the corner where it was hidden by a hanger.  
  
"I take it you were going to take that plane? You think it's fueled and ready to go?" asked Krit.  
  
"That's the plan," agreed Logan, "It wasn't much of one, but it stands a better chance now with you guys here. I hope one of you knows how to fly - I'm pretty rusty these days. By the way, I'm sure one of those guys is White - the plane is probably ready to take him back to Seattle."  
  
"We can all fly - part of standard training at Manticore," Max said, "This is too good, Logan - taking their plane from White himself!" She thought for a moment. "Logan and I go in the front - White knows us and my even sort of expect us. You three come in from the side while we distract him." Krit, Syl and Alec pulled handguns from a bag and vanished over the fence, melting into the shadows around the hanger. Logan took the wheel and drove back to the gate and drove into up near the plane.  
  
"Ames - just wanted to say 'bye and no hard feelings!" called out Logan as he and Max got out of the car.  
  
"Cale! I was right all along," White looked Logan up and down, then turned to Max, "And 452. Looking to hitch a lift back to Seattle? Nothing doing. Take them!" White said to the suited men.  
  
"I don't think so," Alec said, appearing from behind a fuel drum a few feet away. His gun was pointed right at White's head. Syl and Krit emerged from behind the wheel of the plane and pallet of boxes respectively. The mechanics immediately put their hands in the air, and Krit ordered them to get down on their knees, which they promptly did.  
  
"Four of them?" White said, somewhat surprised, "You must really be in good with the mutant scum community."  
  
The man in the flight jacket, whom Logan guessed was the manager of the airstrip, was watching White rather than Alec or him, and Logan braced for trouble reaching for the gun in the waistband of his pants. The scene suddenly exploded into gunfire as the four Familiars darted in every direction, firing their guns as their as they went. Logan, Alec, Syl and Krit ducked for cover while firing back. Max ran around the back of the SUV to heading to the far side of the plane where one of White's men was taking cover behind the rear wheel. Max was on top of him before he saw her, and had him disarmed and unconscious in seconds. Alec shot the second man, while Krit winged the airport manager in his gun arm. White had taken several shots at Logan, who took cover behind the door of the SUV, but with the other three down, himself now out of bullets, and four guns aimed at him, White had no choice but to surrender. Krit, Syl, Alec and Logan relaxed their guard and emerged from cover. Max ducked back under the tail of the plane and looked up to see one of the mechanics pulling a gun from his pocket.  
  
"Look out," she screamed, but the mechanic fired before her friends could react. Krit went down as Logan, Alec and Syl fired back at the man, killing him. The other mechanics hit the ground and covered their heads. Max and Alec bound the surviving Familiars with duct tape while Logan and Syl tended to Krit. Krit had taken a bullet in the side, but it had gone through cleanly and apparently without hitting anything vital. Logan helped him up onto the plane and hunted for a first aid kit while the other X5's piled their belongings onto the plane and Alec started it up. Logan waved cheerfully to the neatly bound Ames White as the door was shut and latched, then the plane taxied down the runway and took off..  
  
"We made it," Krit exulted, as Logan disinfected the gunshot wound and bandaged it.. "Man, that was great!"  
  
"I want the full story, with annotations this time, Logan," demanded Syl.  
  
"I do too, Syl," said Logan, picking up the file, "But first I need to do some research." 


	7. Getting from Here to There

A/N Once again I thank all of those who took the time to review and let me know what you think. And once again I am sorry about how long it took to get this chapter posted. Only one more to go now! Keep letting Fox know how much you want DARK ANGEL back on the air - if we scream loud enough they may decide to bring it back as a midseason replacement when their other new show miserably fail (thats what I keep suggesting when I write or email them).  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 7  
  
The quartet of X5s left Logan alone as he slowly perused the medical file, even though the suspense was killing them. Max and Syl rummaged around in the plane's galley and found some juice and pop and sandwich makings. Syl took some food up to the cockpit where Alec was piloting the plane and Max took the rest back to the cabin and set it on the table where Logan and Krit were sitting. She and Krit dug in while Logan sipped some juice and finished reading the last of the reports. Logan shut the file and stared out the window for a few minutes, then pulled out the last report and reread it, shaking his head and cursing fluently. Max and Krit watched him with concern.  
  
Finally Logan looked over at the siblings. "I don't know a lot about medicine or genetics, just what I've picked up since I was shot and from dealing with Max's background, but I know enough to tell from this that Dr. Mitchell did a real number on me," he said to them.  
  
"Not surprising," said Syl, coming out of the cockpit in time to hear Logan's remarks, "He always was one of Manticore's best and brightest sadists."  
  
"We used to wonder how long it took after he became a doctor for him to break his Hippocratic oath," chimed in Max.  
  
"Remember when Zane said Mitchell probably threw up on the sick and injured after his graduation party?" Krit said, laughing. Even Logan grinned at that one, despite the seriousness of the topic.  
  
"So what did he do to you?" Syl asked bluntly, taking the seat next to Krit as Max got up to dispose of the remains of their meal.  
  
Logan shoved the file over towards Syl and Krit. "See if you understand this better than I do," he said flipping on the intercom switch. "Alec, can you hear us?"  
  
"Sure can," replied Alec, "What's up?"  
  
"I just don't want to have this discussion in shifts," said Logan, feeling very awkward. "It looks like Dr. Mitchell went well beyond what he was authorized to do to me - the government allowed the experimental surgery on my back to try and restore function in my legs, but Mitchell used the opportunity to try a little pet project of his own." Logan stopped, not sure how to proceed.  
  
"Go on, Logan," said Max gently, crossing the cabin to try and read over Syl's shoulder, "What did the son of a bitch do to you?"  
  
"Look, when White and his goon squad broke into my apartment I was afraid they would be able to force me to talk, putting all of you and everyone associated with Eyes Only in danger. So I goaded one of them into nearly killing me," Logan explained.  
  
"Right – he threw you into a bookcase," Max supplied, giving up on trying to read the file for now – Syl was shielding the papers from her view.  
  
"Yeah. My spine was pretty badly damaged again and was putting more pressure on my spinal cord. That's why they took me to Texas, where they had the doctors and facilities to deal with my injury. But Dr. Mitchell decided to do more than just patch me up – he talked the people in charge there to let him to some experimental work on me using spinal cord tissue and bone marrow from an X6. He said the kid had been hurt when he was captured and was brain dead – I hope to God he was telling the truth. I don't think I could stand it if someone was killed just to make me walk again," Logan said softly. Max, Krit and Syl looked at him sympathetically, but waited for him to continue.  
  
"The bone marrow was supposed to help prevent rejection, along with an injection of stem cells at the site of the transplant. That was all Dr. Mitchell told me or anyone else about. Then he kept me unconscious for another three days, and that's when I think he conducted his own little science project. He talks about it in his notes there," Logan pointed to the file, "How he used all the little tricks he learned at Manticore to mess with my DNA – splicing and dicing and putting it back into me to see what happens. I knew something was different when I woke up – I never felt so strong and painfree after major surgery as I did that day."  
  
"Yep, that's pretty much what I read here too, Logan," said Krit.  
  
"He used that X6's DNA to combine with yours," said Syl, "Could be worse, you know – he coulda used a goat's. They have lots of those in Texas."  
  
Logan looked at her in surprise and shock. Max giggled. "That would have so like Mitchell – he'd justify it by saying it was to help solve the garbage problem," Max joked.  
  
"Right! A transgenic that eats old tin cans," laughed Alec over the intercom.  
  
"Seriously, Logan," said Krit, "They do have a point – all things considered you got off light, as far as we can tell. There is nothing in his notes that says he expects you to die from what he did or even land back in a wheelchair. Of course, since this has never been tried before he really has no way of knowing, but even if you did end up paralyzed again you wouldn't be any worse off than before, right? And as for the X6, well, all of us were brought up knowing that when we died, any usable parts would be used as donor parts – not a horrifying concept for us. Look at it this way, Logan, the kid was basically dead – given the choice, would he want his death to help someone who would in turn help his family? Have his body be used in experiments that could end up hurting his kind? Or just die without his death meaning much of anything?"  
  
"Krit is right, Logan," said Syl soberly, "Don't take my joking wrong – don't think I'm making light of this. We understand what is troubling you, but you shouldn't feel bad about it – what happened to the X6 kid was not your fault in any way. I'm sure he didn't want to die – no one does, but when it happens we would all want it to count for something. He may never had known you, but he was able to help a friend and that is something, and we will all think kindly of him for it."  
  
"I've gotta agree with them, Logan," said Max, "You can't beat yourself up over what someone else did – to you or that kid. Don't spend your energy being angry that you can walk again - be angry at how it happened, but don't throw that kid's gift away." Max thought sadly of Zack's heart beating so strongly in her chest.  
  
"It's not just that I can walk again, guys – I can see better, hear better, and have a much higher pain threshold now. And this is after just over a week!" Logan ran his hand through his hair distractedly. "I have no idea if this is all that is going to change, or if it is just the beginning."  
  
"So Mitchell was trying to create X series prototypes from norms! And he at least partly succeeded," Alec's voice floated back, "I see why you don't want that file out where anyone could read it."  
  
"The implications are frightening on several levels – you guys being hunted down for transplants and your DNA, armies of revved up 'norms' as you say, as well as me being locked up and studied by the CDC or some such government agency." Logan smiled thoughtfully. "I may have missed some, but that's enough for now."  
  
"You don't have to sell us on secrecy about Mitchell's work," Krit replied, "But I am sure it has had the side effect you've wondering about."  
  
"You think – " Logan began.  
  
"Oh, yeah. More than enough," Krit said with a smile. Syl grinned and nodded in agreement.  
  
Max looked perplexed. "What are you talking about? What side effect?"  
  
"Krit and Syl mean that Dr. Mitchell's unethical tinkering with my DNA has changed it enough that the virus Manticore put in you shouldn't be able to recognize it. In other words, Mitchell unknowingly cured us," Logan explained, turning in his chair to face Max.  
  
"Are you sure? What if you're wrong?" Max felt almost panicked. "None of us are experts in the field. We'd better let Sam Carr do some tests before we try anything."  
  
Logan stood and pulled Max into his arms before she could resist. He kissed her full on the mouth, thoroughly and not too gently, then released her. For a long minute they stood and looked at each other.  
  
"You fool, Logan! What if you had been wrong?" Max whispered.  
  
"Max, I'm all grown up – have been for many years – and in case you haven't noticed, I don't exactly live my life wrapped in cotton wool. It was a chance I was willing to take, and if I was wrong there are three X5's here who could give me a transfusion," Logan said softly, "Now the only thing standing in our way is your feelings, because mine haven't changed. Let me know when you get them sorted out."  
  
"I hate to break up this touching scene," Alec interrupted, "but has anyone given any thought as to where we are going? We're gonna have to land eventually."  
  
"Personally, I only got as far as somewhere flat, away from Utah and within striking distance of Washington State," replied Logan, "I am open to suggestions."  
  
"What were you planning to do with the plane?" asked Krit.  
  
"I really didn't have any plans. Just to get it down with me in one piece would have satisfied me fine," said Logan ruefully.  
  
"I know a guy who sells used planes and parts for them – very discretely." Krit looked around hopefully.  
  
"Sounds good," said Max, "Where is he? Think he'd pay us fair for this one?"  
  
"You kidding? He'll pee in his pants for this baby!"  
  
"I'd rather have cash," said Syl dryly, "Where is this guy?"  
  
"Montana," laughed Krit, "He has a little airfield he works out of. I'll see if I can find it on the charts, okay?"  
  
"Works for me," agreed Logan.  
  
Max realized with a jolt that they were all treating Logan as their CO, taking their lead from him as well as running all their ideas by him and letting him make the final decisions. Before she could think about it too much an argument broke out over who got to fly the plane next and she had to go fight for her turn. Logan grinned and moved toward the back of the plane. He settled down in one of the comfortable seats and reclined it, closing his eyes and thinking over the events of the last several hours. He was surprised and touched that the X5's had come to his aid; he admired their courage, resource and loyalty, and was coming to understand their gallows humor. Raised as they had been, abused and unloved, watching their brothers and sisters die and be dissected, being experimented on themselves, how could anyone expect them not to be at least a little warped? He was asleep when Krit and Alec came out of the cockpit – Max won the right to fly the plane, with Syl next and Krit would pilot it to the private airport and land. Alec and Krit decided that Logan had the right idea, made themselves comfortable and dozed off too. Syl poked her head out of the cockpit to see why everything was so quiet, then turned off the intercom.  
  
"Looks like it's just you and me, little sister," said Syl grinning, "We outlasted all the guys – they're back there conked out."  
  
"I can understand Logan and Krit needing some down-time, but Alec? Must be a guy thing," said Max.  
  
"Speaking of Logan, what are going to do? He's right ya' know – the only thing holding you two back now is you," Syl paused for a moment, "And Maxie, he's a good guy, but he's not going to wait forever – the women of the world won't let him. You're going to have to decide soon."  
  
"It's just not that easy, little sister," replied Max, "I spent all that time in Manticore thinking about what I would do if I got out – sometimes thinking about Logan was all that got me through. Then I run back to him and find out I've been turned into a weapon to kill him – Syl, can you imagine what it's like to know that your very touch is lethal to the man you love? I've spent so long learning not to give in to the desire to touch him, to hide the hurting, and to keep my distance; Syl – I just can't shut it all off and go back to what we used to have!'  
  
"Nobody expects you to, Maxie – you need to go forward to what you will have in the future," responded Syl, "If you don't, Manticore still wins even though their virus is history." The two lapsed into silence for several minutes.  
  
"So what about you?" Max finally asked, "You and Krit an item still?"  
  
"Off and on – we're not like exclusive, though. Especially since Zack won't – wouldn't - let us stay together. I can't believe Zack is gone," Syl said sadly, "Our big brother – I guess we knew something was wrong when he didn't get in touch with us in so long, but I wouldn't have ever believed he was dead."  
  
"Syl, 'dead' isn't exactly the right word; 'gone' is much better – maybe 'changed forever'," Max said cryptically, "Don't ask now – like Logan said, this is a conversation I don't want to have in shifts. When we get on the ground we can all sit down and I promise I'll tell you the rest of the story."  
  
"Okay," Syl dragged the word out, torn between being pissed at Max hiding things about their brother from her, and hope that Zack was still alive.  
  
Syl took her turn at the controls after a while, and then Max went back and woke up Krit when it was his turn. Logan woke up as Max, Syl and Alec packed up their belongings, reloaded weapons and rummaged through the plane for anything they thought might be useful. He accepted a gun and shoulder holster for it and helped search through the plane, packing up all the papers and documents he found into a carry-on bag that was stashed in an overhead compartment. Krit found the airstrip without any problems and radioed ahead of their impending arrival. He brought the plane down for landing and taxied over to a large, ramshackle hanger.  
  
Max unlocked the door and lowered the steps, then turned around to others and announced with a smile, "Ladies and gentleman, welcome to Montana. Please check around your seats and in the overhead compartments for all your belongings, and thank you for flying Manticore Air!" Alec threw his empty paper cup at her, and the five left the plane. A sixtyish, portly man with a shotgun was waiting for them; he relaxed visibly when he saw Krit.  
  
"Corey! It is you, son! Long time, no see," the man beamed, "Where did you get this beauty? Who are your friends?"  
  
"Corey?" Max asked with a wicked smirk, "Let me guess – your last name was Manta, or maybe Martin?"  
  
"Martin. So sue me, I was much younger then." Krit turned to the older man, "Hi, Trace, it's been a while! These are my sisters, he's my brother and this guy is my sister's boyfriend. The plane was repayment for a debt, but we can't keep it. Can we do a deal? Cash and a car?"  
  
"Somebody owed you a plane? Try again, Corey. You know I'm an honest businessman," Trace said virtuously.  
  
Krit snorted. "How well I remember. I used to work here, you know! Anyhow, it's not mine – it's his," Krit pointed at Logan in his black leather blazer and blue silk shirt. Trace looked a little more convinced.  
  
Logan nodded. "Actually, it was settlement for a lawsuit. They owed me more for what they did to me, but I took the plane just to end the matter."  
  
"Okay," said Trace, accepting that explanation, "Let's deal."  
  
Logan let the X5s strike a bargain with Trace for the plane – they were all past masters at haggling, and after several cups of coffee and a box of cookies a price was set and hands were shaken all around. By now the sun was high in the sky and the six people piled into Trace's truck and headed into town. Trace went to the bank and got cash to pay for the plane and drove them over to a used car dealership.  
  
"Corey – nice dealing with you and your family. Don't be a stranger, you hear!" said Trace, cheerfully waving goodbye as he drove away, eager to get started dismantling the plane. With parts from the Lear jet Trace would be able to finish several other planes he had sitting in the hangars and sell them. He knew he would be able to make a very tidy profit, and no one would ever find the Lear jet again.  
  
Logan and Alec picked out a nice van and the group loaded up and drove west, Alec grumbling about paying for the vehicle.  
  
"Stow it, Alec," Logan finally ordered, "We don't need to attract any more notice than absolutely necessary right now."  
  
Despite the naps the men took on the plane and the high energy level of the X5's in general, the group stopped early in the afternoon in a nice town an easy drive from the Idaho border. Logan found a clothing store and emerged a short while later looking much more comfortable in Dockers and a long-sleeved V-neck shirt.  
  
"Where's that nifty jacket?" asked Krit in mock disappointment.  
  
"Traded it for this one," said Logan briefly, pulling a brown leather aviator style jacket out of his bag. "I was going to give you the other one for Christmas, but since I already wore it I thought that might be considered tacky." Logan ducked into a shoe store while the X5's went into the restaurant across the street and got a table. A few minutes later Logan joined them for a merry dinner, and for the first time all five of them were able to really relax.  
  
"Okay, Max, spill it," Syl finally said after dessert was served, "What's going on with Zack – not dead, but gone?" Krit looked up from his plate in surprise.  
  
"He shot himself so they could transplant his heart into me, but they didn't let him die. They used him for experiments – artificial organs and nanotechnology regeneration. But his memories were messed up – he was very confused about who he was and what our relationship was when we met again." Max was finding it hard to go on, so Logan picked up the story and explained how Zack had come back into their lives, but tried to kill Logan so Max had been forced to erase Zack's memory completely with a strong jolt of electricity. "I called in a favor from a friend and he took Zack in as part of his family – Zack is living under another name on a farm in a small town. I've checked in a few times with my friend and Zack is doing fine – very happy and dating a nice girl. But he shows no sign of remembering any of his past life."  
  
Syl and Krit sat quietly for a while, mourning again their lost brother, then Syl spoke, "At least he's happy. Now Zack has what we all escaped to find – a real, normal life. And I bet he looks good in a cowboy hat and boots." Krit nodded in agreement.  
  
The waitress directed them to nice, inexpensive hotel near the edge of town, and they got three rooms next to each other. By unspoken agreement Krit and Alec went to the door of the first room, Syl and Max to the middle and Logan walked to the door of the last. As he unlocked the door, Logan looked over at Max who was waiting as Syl unlocked their door. Max read the question in his eyes and hesitated for a moment, then she smiled. Logan held out his hand and Max walked over and took it, and let him pull her into his room. Syl smiled over at Alec and Krit. "Guess we won't be getting an early start in the morning. We'd better call the front desk and cancel the wake-up call." 


	8. Home on the firing range

A/N I finally finished! I hope it was worth waiting for... Please let me know if you like the story, and those of you who have already reviewed, thanks for your kind words and encouragement - they really help keep me motivated! If I get enough I may just get moving on the sequel I am working on (bribe? or threat?).  
  
  
  
Chapter 8  
  
Logan sat on the edge of the bed in boxers and a T-shirt, reading the message from Sebastian on the laptop. In one of the few moments he spent last night not concentrating on Max, Logan had plugged in the computer and sent a message to Sebastian bringing him up to date on events. All the rest of the evening had been devoted to Max and exploring their new relationship, and Logan felt happier this morning than he had in a very long time.  
  
Max stirred and stretched under the covers, her big brown eyes opening and focusing on Logan. "Hey," she said with a warm smile.  
  
"Hey yourself," said Logan, leaning over and kissing her.  
  
  
  
"What time is it?" she asked, peering at the bedside clock, "Oh no – its after  
  
eight! What happened to our wake-up call?" The others will have eaten breakfast already! We are never going to hear the end of this, Logan!" She sat bolt upright, pulling the sheet up over the front of her nude body.  
  
"It's okay, Max," Logan replied with a grin, pulling her into a close hug, "For this, I can put up with a little more teasing. Besides, I'm getting used to getting a hard time from your sibs." He closed his eyes in enjoyment of the feel of her smooth skin under his hands, and for several moments the two just sat there holding each other, until Max pulled away.  
  
"What's wrong with this picture?" she asked, plucking at his T-shirt.  
  
"Hmm, I see your point," Logan said, "But we probably should get dressed and join the others before they come looking for us."  
  
"They wouldn't dare," Max predicted, "I need a shower – join me?" She let the sheet slip down.  
  
Logan took several deep breaths, trying to gain control of his libido. "Max, if you want to meet the others for breakfast we'd better not – last night we used up all the hot water for the hotel when we showered together." Max looked disappointed, but slipped out of bed and into the bathroom without protest. Logan went back to reading Sebastian's email, but his mind kept wandering in the direction of the bathroom. He gave it up when he heard Max get into the shower, sent a quick message of thanks to Sebastian and shut down the computer. "I've got Max and the car keys," he thought as he stripped off his shirt and entered the bathroom, "The others can wait."  
  
Max and Logan entered the diner a couple of hours later and slipped into the booth where Alec, Syl and Krit were lingering over danish and coffee. "Thought you guys would be done eating by now," commented Logan, slipping his arm around Max's shoulders.  
  
"We figured there was no hurry, so we took our time and had a late breakfast. Guess the clerk forgot about the wake-up call, but then we didn't hear anything from your room and we knew you guys needed your rest after such a big day." said Alec innocently.  
  
"By the way," said Krit, "Anyone else have trouble getting hot water last night? I had to have a cold shower – really ticked me off." Max and Logan looked a little red, and Syl grinned.  
  
"I guess some people really enjoy long hot showers," Syl said thoughtfully, "Really long ones, with lots of soap and bubbles, shampoo and conditioner, scrubbing and massaging in the body lotion, or maybe oils – ow!" She broke off as Max kicked her under the table. Krit and Alec got the hint and the subject turned towards a plan of action.  
  
"Most of the cops in this area are more than happy to accept bribes, so we can stick to the main roads and we shouldn't have any real problems until we get to Northwest Washington. Sebastian said he would have someone meet us at a rest stop outside of Spokane tomorrow with all the passes and papers we will need to get back to Seattle. We'll deal with whatever happens there when we get there," Logan said. The others had no problem with this plan and breakfast was finished in a leisurely manner and the five headed back to the hotel to pack up.  
  
Krit finished stowing the last of the bags in the back of the van and jiggled the keys in his hand thoughtfully, looking at Logan who was reading a map he had laid out on the top of a car near them. Krit tossed the keys right at Logan before calling out, "Cale – you drive first!" Logan snatched the keys out of the air as they neared his head without even looking up, then looked very surprised. Krit started laughing at his expression.  
  
"Thought so – you got amped up reflexes now too! We'll have to teach you to use them – in your line of work they could come in handy." Krit piled into the van along with Syl, and Alec. Max sat in the front passenger seat next to Logan and they hit the road.  
  
"So what are you going to do when you get back to Seattle, Logan?" asked Alec curiously, "I mean, you can't exactly just waltz back into your home – White's gonna be looking for you."  
  
"I'll think of something. Actually, Sebastian already is working on some possibilities for me," Logan said, "Thanks for caring. And I do mean that seriously – thanks to all of you for coming to help me, I don't think I would have made it out of there alive."  
  
"Hey, what are families for?" said Alec, "You are related to us now – and not just because you're with Max."  
  
"Right – he's sort of a shirttail relative now," added Krit.  
  
"And becoming more so every day," Syl joined in, "He may become more of one of us than we are ourselves." They all took a moment to untangle that statement.  
  
"But you didn't know about our blood relationship until after you broke me out of the hospital," Logan pointed out, "so my thanks stand. But does this mean I get to call on you for help more often now?" A pointed silence met this question. Logan grinned.  
  
"Are you and Krit going to stay in Seattle?" Max asked Syl.  
  
"Just until things are settled. We figure that two and a half X- series soldiers in one town is enough," Krit replied, "Besides, we've got things going on in other towns."  
  
"I'll bet," Max said, "But Normal will be heartbroken."  
  
The trip across Idaho went smoothly, as they headed west, then north to the main interstate. Logan's presence and the happy ending to the mission kept the squabbling to a minimum, and, as he predicted, the guards at the checkpoints were more than happy to accept money in place of valid passes. They stopped for the night again at an inn on the edge of Coeur d'Alene and spent the evening at a bar, drinking beer and playing pool. Logan restrained Alec and Krit from fleecing the locals too much – the last thing he wanted was a bar fight and police attention.  
  
The next morning the group only had to drive for about an hour before they came to the rest stop where Sebastian's contact was to meet them. The place was deserted at that hour, so Krit started teaching Logan to fight, Manticore style.  
  
"No, no – hold your arms like so -," Krit demonstrated, "Don't lock you knees and stand on the balls of your feet – don't dance, just wait! Now, watch my chest – that's where movement will start. Good!" he praised, as Logan successfully blocked the blow Krit threw at him. They repeated the exercise several more times, with Alec, Max and Syl cheering and critiquing. Then Alec caught Krit's eye and smiled. Krit began showing Logan a new move as Alec moved behind him (Max frowned, but did not interfere). As Alec reached to grab Logan around the neck, Logan grabbed Alec's arm and threw him over his shoulder. Alec automatically hung on to Logan's arm, pulling him downwards too, then Alec planted a foot in Logan's stomach and flipped him onto his back too. Alec sprang up instantly and stood over Logan, extending a hand to help him up.  
  
"Very good, Cale!" Alec said, "Damn impressive even. You've definitely got the reflexes – maybe not quite as fast as us, but way better than a norm now. But not our strength and stamina. I wonder if those will come."  
  
"No way to know yet," said Logan, catching his breath, "But I do know I'm gonna feel this." He rubbed his lower back – being stiff and sore still beat feeling nothing there anyday, he thought.  
  
A car pulled up slowly, then parked next to the van. Asha stepped out and surveyed the group impassively, then smiled warmly at Logan. Max walked deliberately over to Logan and cuddled up to his side, smiling falsely at Asha. Logan was confused by Max's actions, but not slow to put his arm around her.  
  
"I see your trip was successful on more than one account," Asha said to Max before turning to Alec, "And what happened to your little speech about not mixing with "norms"? Is that policy to be selectively enforced?"  
  
"Oh, Logan's one of the family now," replied Alec cheerfully, not in the least fazed by Asha's coldness.  
  
"Hi, Asha. How are you doing? Did Sebastian send you?" Logan interjected hastily, "How is he?"  
  
"Hey, Logan, good to see you in one piece!" said Asha with considerably more friendliness than she had shown Alec or Max, "Yeah, Sebastian gave me the papers for you all. He's fine – still happily poking around in his computers all day and night." She handed over a bundle of sector passes and other papers to Logan. "I needed to get out of town for a couple of days, so I volunteered to bring them down here."  
  
"So does that mean you are not going back to Seattle today?" Alec asked, with a hint of suggestiveness in his voice.  
  
"No, going to meet some people in Portland for a couple of days. This was a bit out of the way, but I'm not in a hurry. Besides, Logan is a friend," she said pointedly. Asha gave Logan a quick hug, nodded goodbye to Syl and Krit and walked back to her car.  
  
"Okay, see you in a few days, then," Alec called after her impudently.  
  
"Smooth, Alec, real smooth," Max said sarcastically.  
  
"Oh, don't worry – she can't resist me," Alec smirked, "It's all in the genes."  
  
He nudged Logan in the ribs with his elbow and received a pained look in return.  
  
"Let's go – we've got a long drive ahead of us," Logan ordered, "You drive, loverboy." He tossed the keys to Alec.  
  
Curfew was nearly on them by the time they hit Seattle, so they dropped Alec, Syl and Krit off at Joshua's before heading to Sebastian's. Sebastian was thrilled to see Logan not only alive, but walking again. Max called Original Cindy while Logan told Sebastian the whole story and started going over the information that Sebastian had dug up on the breeding cult. The three stayed up late that night talking and brainstorming about the implications of what they had found out. Max reluctantly left for work the next morning, but she unwilling to risk loosing her job – she now had to support Logan since he could not go home until the heat was permanently off him.  
  
Normal was pleasantly surprised to see Max, Alec, Syl and Krit all show up for work, and showed it by sending them all on runs to the worst parts of town. "You saved these up for us?" Max asked him with her trademark sarcasm.  
  
"Bip, bip, bip," Normal chided her, "You want a job where you can sit on your butts all day, I got a friend who needs people to stuff and lick envelopes in his basement. Doesn't pay as well and no fresh air or interesting people."  
  
"Does he say 'bip, bip, bip' all day?"  
  
"No, but he stands over you while eating burritos with extra jalapenos."  
  
Max took the package and rode out of the office. The day was a busy one, and fortunately the weather stayed clear. She checked in with Logan periodically throughout the day – he was always busy and pleased with the progress he was making, so at the end of the day she decided to go out to Crash with Cindy and the others. The bar was hopping and Max had a good time, but after a few hours she started to get a bad feeling she couldn't shake. She knew something was up with Logan, so Max decided to go to Sebastian's and see what he and Logan were up to. Sebastian buzzed her in and unlocked the apartment door for her. Max was surprised that Logan was not there to meet her. "Where is he, Sebastian?" she asked.  
  
"Max, I don't know how to tell you this – he told me not to call you," Sebastian said pleadingly.  
  
"We had this conversation already, now didn't we?" Max said ominously, "Don't remember ever saying that our previous agreement was not in effect either. So?"  
  
Sebastian gave in with what grace he could muster. "Logan set up a meet with White at a restaurant – he thinks he has enough to keep White off his back and your family's."  
  
"With White!?! Is he nuts? Don't answer that – I already know!" Max started pacing, thinking rapidly. "Okay, he's figuring no assassination in a public place, but once he leaves it's open season. Which restaurant?" Sebastian gave her the name of a trendy place near Lake Union. "Gotta blaze – later!" Max ran out and jumped on her motorcycle and headed back to Crash.  
  
"Okay, guys – I need someone to come with me to pull Logan's bacon out of the fire again," she announced when she got to the table where Cindy, Alec, Syl and Krit were sitting.  
  
Alec groaned. "What's Miracle Boy up to now?"  
  
"He's meeting with White at a restaurant. I figure he's okay as long as he is in the building, but once he leaves they'll take him out."  
  
"So we need to station ourselves to cover his exit," Krit said, "Preferably where we can watch the meet too – I see all of us being needed."  
  
"I'm in," said Syl.  
  
"Me too," Alec said, graciously hiding his irritation, "But Max, tell your boy toy to try and stay out of trouble for at least one day after this – we could all use a break." Max whacked him on the back of the head.  
  
"What can Original Cindy do?" Cindy asked.  
  
"Hold our table and swear we were here all night if this goes wrong," Max said succinctly.  
  
"You got it, Boo."  
  
Three silenced sniper rifles, a pair of walkie-talkies and four pairs of binoculars were quickly picked up from Joshua's and the X5's sped over to the Lake Union area and scouted out vantage points. Syl and Krit picked a rooftop with a clear view of the restaurant entrance and parking lot, Max and Alec took up positions where they could see into the restaurant windows. Using the binoculars Max could see Logan and White almost as well as if she was seated at the table with them.  
  
"At least he had the sense to sit with his back to the wall," she commented to Alec, "I'm gonna guess White has some of his guys in there too."  
  
"He's a murdering, lying S.O.B., but no one has ever said he was stupid," agreed Alec taking careful aim at White, "Any idea what they are talking about?"  
  
"I think Logan is trying to blackmail White into letting all of us alone. I'm trying to read lips here, but I am pretty much out of practice. Too many other conversations to try and listen to them." Alec let Max concentrate for several minutes, until she started laughing softly and he demanded to know what was going on. "He may just pull this off! He told White that he knew the Falconers of Detroit personally – you know, Falconer's Manufacturing Company – and they would never let that statue that was on display at the town hall out of the family, so he knows damn well that they was something fishy with Mitch Falconer's will and probably his death. And, he says, that's just for starts – he could give the press the names of several other prominent citizens whose deaths could bear looking into. Plus, he has compiled a list of marriages between wealthy and influential people and Familiars based on the info we took out of White's office. White is looking really pissed!"  
  
"Let me guess the next part – he has made copies of all this information and if anything happens to him, it will go directly to the press!" Alec said grinning.  
  
"Right in one!" Max never took her eyes off the men at the table. "Logan also says he had pictures and videos of the cult rituals – I wonder if that is true? He told White to get himself reassigned and destroy all his notes and information about him and us – actually we already did that. White just told him that, and now he says that he will have to talk to the Conclave. Ready all – they are getting ready to leave!" Max spoke into the walkie-talkie as Logan and White stood up. White strode out of the restaurant without a backwards glance. Logan paused to toss some cash on the table before he left. Max and Alec scurried over to the other end of the building that looked over the far edge of the parking lot. Max scanned the area with her binoculars and caught a glint of metal leaning out window across the parking lot.  
  
"Alec – straight on, third floor window."  
  
"Got it. Go ahead?" Alec held his fire, waiting for Max to confirm the target. Max watched the man until she saw the finger on the trigger began to tighten as Logan emerged from the restaurant door, then whispered, "Go." Alec squeezed off a shot and the man and rifle fell back into the window. White emerged from the building, looked casually around the parking lot, nodded slightly, got in his car and drove away.  
  
Max caught a glimpse of a dark figure emerging from the far side of the restaurant building with a magazine casually held in one, hand watched him carefully as Logan walked towards the van. She alerted Syl and Krit when the man brought his other hand out of his pocket and covered it with the magazine as he walked towards Logan. "Come on, Max – give us some credit here – we were at Manticore too," Syl said in disgust as Krit dropped the man. Logan heard the man fall and looked around in alarm; with his enhanced vision he was able to see the X5s on the rooftops and grinned at them. He got in the van and started it up. An SUV parked in the same lot started up a moment later and followed Logan's van towards the parking lot exit. Max and the others watched as the windows started to roll down in the SUV, then Alec, Syl and Krit shot out the tires and the four left their rooftop perches.  
  
Max dug her motorcycle keys out of her pocket and tossed them to Alec as they reached the sidewalk. "I'm gonna catch a lift home – take my baby back to my place, 'K?" she said to Alec, "And Alec – if there is so much as a scratch on her, I'll take it out of your hide – hear?"  
  
"Max, trust me! No," he said throwing up his hands to stop her, amazed that Max would even consider letting him drive her bike, "Rhetorical comment only! But someday you will see me for the honest and trustworthy guy I am."  
  
Max snorted in response, but hurried off to catch up with Logan, who had stopped at a light a few blocks away. He opened the passenger side door for her. "Hey, pretty lady – need a lift?"  
  
"Hey handsome," she replied with a challenging look as she got in, "Need a brain?"  
  
"Oh! Is this the part where I get chewed out for not telling you where I was going?" Logan said with a remarkable lack of repentance.  
  
"Yep. Sebastian may want a piece of you too for having to try and cover for your stupidity. What were you thinking!?!" Max raged, "Did you really think White would play it fair? Because he is such an honorable guy?"  
  
Logan unzipped his jacket and pulled off the bulletproof vest he had on underneath.  
  
"That won't protect you from head-shots," Max said, slightly mollified.  
  
"They aren't X series soldiers," Logan said calmly, "Have a little faith in me, Max – like I said, I've been doing this for a while."  
  
"You still should have told us what you were planning – it concerns us too! We could have set it up better! Do you think it will work? Yeah – I was reading your lips so I know what you are blackmailing him with." Max waited anxiously for his reply.  
  
Logan smiled reassuringly at her. "If they don't leave us alone – at least for now – I will release the information we have on them and then they'll be too busy fending off reporters and investigators to bother us. And White and the Conclave know it – shooting at me back there was just a last ditch attempt by White to get revenge."  
  
"So you can go home?"  
  
"We can go home, Max," Logan said, "And Alec, and Syl and Krit. I've got your back, you know."  
  
"I know. And I've got yours."  
  
"And your front and your sides and your arms and legs…" Logan continued until Max slid over into his lap and let him hold what he had mentioned. Their lips came together in a deep and passionate kiss, as Logan's hands roamed over the territory he laid claim to. He had covered some very interesting ground when a bright light lit the interior of the van and a sharp knock came at the window.  
  
"Hey, kids – move on!" a rough voice ordered. Logan unrolled the window as Max tugged her shirt down and scooted back to her seat. The sector cop's flashlight shone on Logan for a moment, then on Max for a longer moment. "Not that I blame you son, but get a room. Fine lady like that deserves someplace more comfortable." He waved them on, so Logan put the van in drive and drove home.  
  
  
  
(A/N Postscript - the ending may be a bit neat, but I had to find a way that Max and Logan can stay in Seattle without the Familiars coming after them and this was all I could come up with.) 


End file.
